With a Little Unwanted Help From My Friends
by MufasasPride
Summary: Haru and Makoto love each other. Their friends know it; the cat at the bottom of the stairs knows it; heck, even the water they swim in knows it. And yet, neither of them have a clue. Nagisa and Gou, fed up with the pair's astounding idiocy, decide to take matters into their own hands. Haru and Makoto never know peace again.
1. The Proposition

**Oho look at me trying to not write as much crack. And not Sourin. FINALLY WE HAVE MAKOHARU AYYYYOOO**

 **I don't own _Free!_. To be perfectly honest, _Free!_ owns me. And my sanity.**

* * *

"Haru!"

Even though it was foggy and garbled beneath the waves of the pool, Haru would have recognized that voice anywhere. He looked up and saw a familiar tall, broad shouldered form, wavering with the ripples above Haru's eyes. The setting sunshine set a frame against the back of messy, ruffled hair, the brightness reflecting in the water and obscuring the face from view. But Haru knew the expression on that face without having to see it, because he had been seeing that expression every day for essentially his entire life. He hadn't tired of it yet.

Quite the opposite, really.

Haru surfaced and stood up in the pool, his lungs expanding gratefully with early evening air. After shaking excess droplets from his dark hair, he lifted his head to look up at the figure standing above him. Despite the shadows the sunset cast, emerald eyes shined brightly, warmly meeting Haru's blue. Haru could just barely make out his own form reflected in the gems, inky hair plastered to his forehead and bare shoulders and chest, framed by the turquoise water behind him.

"Haru, it's getting late," the amiable voice said, leaning forward slightly. Brown hair that looked bronze in the orange glow fluttered with the breeze as a hand extended out to Haru. "Time to get out, eh?"

Haru looked down at the hand facing him, larger and more tan than his own. He drew his hand out of the water and slid it into the dry hand, grazing against soft callouses that had often been a subject of complaint for their owner. Haru had never been able to find the words to convey that weren't anything to worry about. They didn't bother him in the slightest; they were a small part of a whole, and he cared about the whole more than a singular part. But even though it was a miniscule fraction of the whole, Haru felt that it might be the miniscule fractions that made the whole what it was. If the callouses were to disappear, he would miss them.

The strong arm attached to the hand in Haru's grip flexed as it began to pull him up out of the pool. Haru tightened his grip and helped to give some leverage to ease his parting from the water, stepping a foot onto the deck of pool. He stepped the other onto the deck as well, drips raining down from his body and splattering onto the paved floor. The hand lingered in his own until sure that he had found his footing, before gently releasing, fingers brushing against each other.

Haru's arm dropped to his side as he raised his gaze to meet green eyes again. Up closer, he could see the expression on that familiar face, and as he had predicted, it was kind and friendly, like it always was. He felt himself softening and his lips curving into the smallest of smiles as he looked up, feeling comfortable and content. A hot feeling formed in his chest and flared out like a firework, spreading to the rest of his body. He was warm despite the cool breeze against his soaked skin.

The head a couple of inches above his sightline tilted, eyes shutting as a smile spread across pink lips. "Let's go, Haru-chan," the voice called out as they began to make their way to where their towels were, looking over a shoulder at Haru.

Haru huffed and cast his eyes to the side. "Drop the -chan," he grumbled, although he didn't mind the childish nickname so much when it came off of that tongue.

A bubbly laugh met his ears, and he jolted in surprise as he felt a towel hit his chest, his hands quickly jumping up to catch it before it fell to the ground. He whipped his head forward to see a hint of a bemused smirk on that mouth and a mischievous glint in the midst of green.

"Makoto," he complained in a low voice, frowning.

Makoto's smiled widened, dropping the underlying layer of sneakiness and replacing it with innocence as he laughed at the grouchy expression on Haru's face. He draped his own towel around his shoulders and turned away, still laughing.

Haru sighed, putting the towel over his damp hair and rubbing his scalp to dry it before stepping forward and following after Makoto.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Haru and Makoto, there were three pairs of eyes watching them, hidden just a short distance away. Nagisa and Rei had both changed back into their uniforms, having exited the pool far sooner than had Makoto and, of course, Haru. Gou was resting her elbows on one of the wood planks hiding them from view, her chin in her hands. She sighed as Haru and Makoto left the pool and disappeared from view, exchanging light words. Lifting her head up, she turned to face Rei and Nagisa.

"This is killing me," she groaned, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes.

Nagisa nodded fervently, a somber pout on his face. "I just want to-" He mimed a slapping motion. "-whack some sense into them!"

"It's so painfully obvious how much they care about each other!" Gou continued, sighing again. "Why can't they see that?"

"Because Haru-chan and Mako-chan are stupid," Nagisa whined, letting out a frustrated puff and ruffling his blond bangs. "They've loved each other since before I even knew them, so you think they'd have realized it by now but _nooo_ , they're both the most clueless people I've ever met." He shook his head sadly and clasped his hands behind his back.

"And they're graduating this year," added Gou, furrowing her brow concernedly. "I can't let them leave without making sure they know what everyone else does."

Rei crossed his arms and pushed up his glasses. "But how do you know that they haven't confessed to each other already?" he asked. "It's entirely possible that they want to keep it quiet."

"I would _know_ , Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed emphatically, grabbing Rei's shoulder and shaking him. "A father always knows."

Rei looked down at Nagisa, quizzically raising an eyebrow. "Nagisa-kun, are you saying that you view Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai as your children?"

Nagisa beamed widely. "Yes," he answered confidently. He giggled and patted Rei's shoulder. "And you're their mother, Rei-chan."

" _What?!_ "

"But to get back to the point," Gou quickly interjected, coughing over Rei's spluttering. "I think we need to do something. We can't let this go on."

Nagisa stopped cooing over Rei and turned to face Gou. "Mako-chan and Haru-chan aren't about to push things forward, so we need to push them ourselves!" He clenched his small hand into a fist, a determined look in his magenta eyes.

Rei frowned and clutched his chin, looking concerned. "I'm not sure it's quite appropriate," he said, pushing up the red frames surrounding his eyes. "It would be an intrusion of their privacy to the highest degree, and wouldn't you think it to be more beautiful if they slowly realized it themselves without the interference of others?"

"But at this rate, they aren't going to realize it until they're eighty-five!" Nagisa complained, flapping his arms spastically. "It has to be before they graduate!"

Rei sighed in defeat as he watched the smaller boy, his purple eyes half exasperated, half amused.

Gou nodded along with Nagisa's words, her jaw set in determination. "So how do we want to do this?" she questioned, clutching her chin in her fingers and looking deep in thought. "We'd have to do it without their knowledge, obviously. And I'm not sure what kind of methods would be most effective."

"Ooh, I am the best at working behind peoples' backs!" Nagisa offered excitedly. He struck a pose. "They call me... The Stealth." He winked.

Rei looked at him with confusion. "Who on earth that calls you that?! I've never even heard that before!"

"Oh Rei-chan, you wouldn't know them."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Boys! Back to the task at hand, please!" Gou barked, putting her hands on her hips authoritatively. Nagisa and Rei immediately quieted and straightened up, looking mildly fearful. "We don't have much time to do this, so we need to not waste what little we have!"

Nagisa nodded and leaned over to elbow Rei in the side. "You heard her, Rei-chan," he said, a grin on his face.

"I didn't do anything!" Rei rebutted, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. Nagisa let out an impish giggle.

After a breath, Nagisa bit his lip. "Hm, how _would_ we do this," he pondered, casting his eyes upwards. He suddenly brightened up, looking forward again and pointing his index finger. "I have a proposition!" He aimed his finger at Gou. "How about we make a little friendly competition out of it?"

Rei balked. "Nagisa-kun!"

Gou raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking intrigued. "How so?" she asked.

"Well, I think we both would have conflicting opinions on how to approach the mission," Nagisa admitted, and Gou nodded in agreement. "So let's say that the person who gets one of them to confess first wins!"

"Is there a prize?" Gou questioned, a mischievous glint in her maroon eyes.

"The satisfaction of knowing that you're the better friend," Nagisa said, raising an eyebrow and giving Gou a devilish smile.

"Nagisa-kun, Gou-cha-"

"I like your terms," Gou said, nodding sharply.

"This is highly inappropriate-"

"Good," Nagisa said quietly, looking confident. "We should shake on it, just so we seal the deal." He offered out his hand. "Rei-chan, you're our witness."

Rei huffed and placed a hand to his forehead. "This isn't really requiring of a witness…" he mumbled, Gou and Nagisa ignoring him.

Gou took Nagisa's hand and slowly shook it up and down. They both squeezed each others' hands so tightly that their knuckles turned white, and magenta and maroon locked intensely, competitive fire burning. After a long, drawn out moment, they released, resisting to shake away the pain from the tightness of the grip as their hands fell back to their sides.

Nagisa smiled broadly, and threw an arm over Rei's shoulder. "You know, Rei-chan, I think the results of this are already decided," he taunted. "I mean, I have known Haru-chan and Mako-chan for even longer than Rin-chan!"

Gou gave him a cold smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "That may be true, Nagisa," she replied, "but you lack common sense and rationality."

Nagisa stuck out his bottom lip. "That's mean, Gou-kun!" he mewled as Rei tried to stifle his laughter.

"Don't call me Gou-kun!"

Nagisa didn't reply and instead grabbed Rei by the wrist. "Let's go home, Rei-chan." He began dragging Rei away, who offered an apologetic farewell to Gou, who laughed amiably and waved at them.

Nagisa turned to glance over his shoulder, looking Gou straight in the eye. The light smile slid off of her face and was replaced by a cruel sneer that Nagisa returned with a mischievous grin. They had started the day as friends and classmates, and were ending it as bitter rivals.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Rei and Nagisa are my favorites to write, can you tell?**

 **So I got the idea for this because I hate it when Gou is depicted as really shallow and vapid in fics and she's only used to initiate jealousy or break up Makoharu. I love Gou, she's a great character with depth and personality and I hate seeing her diminished to just the "other girl". I think she would totally ship Haru and Makoto and I definitely see her being one of the bros and trying to help them. The bromance is real.**

 ** **Other than a couple of foggy ideas, I have really no idea where I'm going to go with this yet eheheh. I am trying to get past my overabundance of crack, but with Nagisa being an important character in this, there's no guarantees as to whether I'll slip into the land of trash or not.****

 **I swear to god, all I could hear in my mind while writing Gou and Nagisa complaining about Haru and Makoto was Shia Labeouf yelling, "JUST. DO IT. MAKE. YOUR DREAMS. COME TRUE." My life is just one massive meme now.**

 **And as I always do because I am a shameless self-exhibitor, I'm going to mention my other Makoharu fic that I'm cowriting with sexythroatbitchohyescats called The Flames of Heaven. ALL THE SELF-ADVERTISING! I only bring it up so much because The Flames of Heaven is my pride and joy, and sexythroatbitchohyescats's too. Check it out. -whispers- please -slides across a twenty dollar bill-**


	2. Salty and Sweet

**Um, I didn't expect people to like this that much? This is literally word vomit yo. Thanks, hah.**

 **I don't own _Free!_. It'd be even gayer than it is already if I did. **

* * *

Haru sighed as he sat down in his seat at the back of the classroom next to the window, Makoto slipping into the one beside him. It was Monday and Haru was tired and in a bad mood, which even his traditional bath couldn't entirely mend. He had wanted to stay there in his little watery cocoon indefinitely, and would have had Makoto not been there to get him out. As he had cooked his mackerel with Makoto fretting like usual behind him, he had absentmindedly wondered what his attendance record would look like if Makoto weren't there every morning like clockwork to get him to school. He wasn't quite sure why Makoto had started and kept up the ritual of coming to get him, considering Haru always made him late and he paced anxiously the whole time, but it had been routine for so long that Haru didn't question it.

He sighed again, watching his classmates filtering in around the classroom, chatting and laughing. Their excited, high pitched voices grated into his ears, making him want to wrap his arms around his head and flop on top of his desk. _It's too early for this._

A small chuckle came from his right and he turned his head to see Makoto looking at him. He smiled once Haru met his gaze and changed his focus to their classmates. "They're kind of loud, aren't they?" he said, exhaling and looking back to Haru with his psychic green eyes. Haru huffed and looked forward, knowing that Makoto knew his answer without having to verbally respond.

Makoto let out another light chuckle and began pulling out his notebooks and textbooks from within his backpack, setting them out on his desk. Haru surreptitiously flicked his gaze back to him, watching Makoto's hands deftly move out of the corner of his eye. As Makoto pulled out his pencils and set them out orderly above his notebook, Haru followed the movement and flexions of the bones and tendons beneath the softly tanned skin of his hands. Without thinking about it, he got sucked into blatantly staring at Makoto's hands and wrists, where they were abruptly cut off by the sleeve of his uniform. A little voice in the back of his head observed that it was weird to be so obviously focused on his best friend's hands, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. For some reason, as he continued to look at them, an inexplicable heat rushed to his face. He blinked and frowned in confusion. Maybe it was embarrassment that he was so oddly captivated by Makoto's hands.

His embarrassment multiplied with a jolt as Makoto stopped his work and noticed Haru's attention on him. Makoto turned his face to him, his brows furrowed slightly and his confused emeralds asking _Is everything okay?_ Haru inhaled sharply and quickly turned his face away, letting his ebony bangs fall to veil his eyes and, he hoped, the tint in his cheeks. Why was he so flustered? Makoto was the one person he never had to worry about feeling awkward or uncomfortable with, and yet he was like soggy mush this morning. He felt ridiculous.

Hoping to put the moment behind him, Haru bent over and unzipped his backpack, pulling out his own books and setting them on the desk, avoiding glancing in Makoto's direction for fear that his face would flame up again. He got the buzzing feeling that Makoto was watching him, and kept his head bent over his desk so his expression was unreadable. After a couple of moments of taking deep breaths, he felt himself calming and returning to normal. _What was that?_

As he set out his pencils, he heard the door to the classroom snap open and a pair of feet rush in, the sound of them appearing to stop on the other side of Makoto, but Haru kept his head down to his desk. All of a sudden, Makoto let out a strangled yelp beside him and Haru whipped his head around just in time to see Makoto tipping dangerously towards the left in his chair before he collided with him. Eyes widening in shock and confusion, Haru too began to fall along with the momentum from Makoto's body, the two of them tilting in what felt like slow motion. With a loud crash, Haru's chair completely toppled over and Haru hit the ground beside his desk hard, Makoto clumsily tumbling on top of him with a high pitched "oof!"

Back stinging, Haru's wind was knocked out of him from the impact of Makoto's heavier body, his lungs stunted with being accidentally pinned between the hard floor and Makoto's torso. Panicking, Makoto immediately lifted himself off of Haru, pulling up enough to set his hands on either side of Haru's ribcage. He looked at Haru with wide, horrified eyes, his eyebrows inching up his forehead anxiously.

"Haru!" he gasped, his jade eyes flashing with alarm. "Are you alright?"

Haru blinked, frozen with his head at an awkward angle against the wall. He attempted to give a short nod. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, hating the catch in voice. Makoto exhaled in response, looking only a little less intensely concerned.

There was an awkward pause as neither Haru nor Makoto made any attempt to move. Makoto kept staring at Haru with his warm eyes, and Haru began to feel the inadvertent flush return to his face, but this time there was no way for him to hide it. Mortified, his breath caught in his chest, the room now quiet enough for him to hear the equally short breaths from Makoto. The obnoxious chatter from his classmates had dissipated, making him acutely aware that everyone was staring at him and Makoto, and he suddenly longed for the excited bustle that kept him in anonymity.

Makoto's eyes widened in embarrassment as he realized that he had lingered in the awkward position for a bit too long. "Oh, s-sorry!" he stammered, immediately rolling off of Haru and scampering up to standing. He offered a hand back down to Haru, who took it and let Makoto pull him up. As his now aching spine straightened up, he noticed that Makoto was avoiding his gaze, a blush on his face that had reached all the way to his ears. When Makoto released his hand, they both turned to see the culprit behind the incident.

" _Nagisa?!_ "

The younger boy giggled impishly, reaching up a hand to rub the back of his blond curls. "Good morning, Haru-chan and Mako-chan!"

"What was that for?!" Makoto squeaked, his voice louder and an octave higher than usual.

Haru glared icily at the small breaststroke swimmer, filled with the sudden desire to strangle him.

Nagisa continued to laugh a little bit nervously with the look of utter death Haru was giving him. "Oh, I just wanted to tell you guys that Rei-chan and I won't be joining you for lunch today," he said, effectively skirting around Makoto's question. "We have a very, very important project we need to work on."

"That doesn't explain why you pushed me!" Makoto squawked, his voice rising in desperation. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his forehead as he flapped his arms awkwardly. His ears were still a bright red.

"NAGISA-KUN!"

They all jumped at the loud bark from the doorway, turning to see a very irritated and exasperated Rei making his way towards them. He stopped with a huff beside Nagisa, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at the blond with a stern expression.

"Nagisa-kun, you're going to be late for class!" he chided, grabbing the smaller boy's arm before turning his gaze to Haru and Makoto. "I am awfully sorry about this, Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai!" He dipped his head apologetically and turned his focus back to Nagisa with a disapproving glare. He proceeded to drag him out of the classroom, Nagisa giving a wink in farewell to Haru and Makoto before he disappeared from view. They were left standing blankly in the middle of carnage fit for a tornado, the room now considerably quieter without their younger teammates.

A small titter filled the stagnant air as their classmates processed what they had just witnessed. After regaining his senses, Makoto bent over and picked up Haru's chair, placing it back on its legs, before picking up his own and quickly sitting down in it without looking at Haru. Haru apprehensively drew his chair to the desk, it scraping loudly against the floor, and sat down as well, looking down at the blank notebook page before him, his blood rushing like a waterfall in his ears. Luckily, their teacher entered and everyone filed to their seats, quieting after the morning's excitement.

Classes passed painfully slowly, as Haru's bad mood had increased by Nagisa's sudden intrusion and disturbance, and fellow students who had been present for the catastrophe kept glancing over at him and Makoto with bemused expressions. Throughout the classes they had together, he and Makoto carefully avoided eye contact, the morning's shame still fresh and raw in their minds. He figured that maybe it was a good thing that Nagisa wouldn't be eating lunch with them, because he wasn't entirely sure he could restrain himself from hurting the sneaky little weasel.

Eventually, they made it to lunch and headed up to their customary spot on the roof. They sat with their backs against the wall, eating from their bentos in silence. Neither of them minded silence and it wasn't unusual for them to be with each other without speaking, but the quietness had an unfamiliar thickness and oppressiveness that echoed the moment from earlier. As Haru dug through his rice and fish, he wondered what had happened to make things so awkward. It wasn't that they weren't used to Nagisa constantly annoying and embarrassing them, but it had never affected them this badly before. Haru shook his head and frowned. No, it wasn't odd that they were struck so hard, considering that what Nagisa had done this morning was so drastically worse than normal.

He sighed and lifted up his chopsticks to his mouth, taking a bite and swallowing, barely even tasting anything. Curious, he flicked a look to Makoto, who was entirely focused on his lunch with eyes that showed whirring thoughts much like Haru's. Haru felt like he should say something, but he had no idea what, so he instead turned back to his food and took another bite.

After another couple of moments, the door leading to the roof banged open and a small, familiar figure stepped onto the roof. Kou saw Haru and Makoto sitting there and waved, her long red ponytail bouncing and her maroon eyes lighting up as she bounded towards them.

"Hi!" she chirped, stopping before them with her hands clasped behind her back. "I figured you guys would be up here."

Makoto set down his bento and returned her warm smile. "What's up, Kou?" he asked, lifting his chin to look at her.

"Well," she began, rocking back on her heels. "I was actually wondering if you guys could help me with something."

"Of course!" Makoto answered brightly. "What do you need help with?"

"Oh, well, my friend gave me this bit of cake," she said, pulling one of her hands from behind her back and showing them a plastic container, "but I don't really want it, so I was wondering if you guys do?"

"I don't like cake," Haru replied flatly.

Makoto glanced over to him and gently nudged him with his knee as if to say _Be nice_. Haru turned away in defeat before Makoto looked back up at Kou. "Sure, we'll take it," he said, offering up a hand.

Kou let go of it once it was in Makoto's grip and clasped her hands behind her back again. "Thanks a lot!" She barely waited a moment before turning and heading back to the door, waving over her shoulder with an effervescent "See you later!" before exiting the roof.

Makoto set the container down next to him and waited until both he and Haru had finished eating their lunches before picking it back up and cracking the lid open. As he set it down on top of his folded leg, Haru caught a glimpse inside and realized that Kou's description of the cake had been severely lacking. It was not a 'bit' of cake, it was 'a' cake. And it was in the shape of a heart. With pink frosting.

Haru and Makoto stared at it in confusion for a couple seconds, the cake glaring right back at them with its sugary, tacky pastel. Makoto coughed awkwardly. "Well, um…" He lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck. "It'd be rude to let it go to waste," he pointed out, nervously raising his eyebrows as he turned his head to Haru. He smiled weakly. "It looks good!"

Haru lowered his brows in irritation. "I don't want any," he responded automatically.

"Eh, but it's too big for me to eat on my own!" Makoto piped, glancing at the gauzy pink heart apprehensively.

"So give the rest to Ren and Ran," Haru suggested grumpily.

"I can't just give them a decimated half of a cake!" Makoto protested, clutching the container in tense hands. "And it'll probably get all smushed if it's bouncing around in my backpack for the rest of the day!"

He looked at Haru with such a plaintive expression that Haru felt his resolve crumbling. When faced with those big green puppy eyes, he couldn't very well say no. He sighed. "Fine," he muttered.

Makoto immediately perked up. "Thanks, Haru-chan!" he said, flashing a grateful smile.

Haru cast his eyes away. "Stop with the -chan," he grumbled.

Makoto closed his eyes and let out a little "hm" of a chuckle, tilting his head to the side, before reopening his eyes and setting the container with the cake in between the two of them. There was a single spoon conveniently packed with the cake, which Makoto immediately picked up and handed to Haru, who took it between reluctant fingers. Makoto bit his lip and leaned forward to draw his backpack closer, rustling through its compartments, before sighing and pushing it away.

"Ah, I don't have another spoon," he told Haru, twisting his lip.

Haru looked down and lifted the spoon in his hand slightly. "I don't mind sharing," he said quietly.

Makoto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, okay!" he chimed. He scooted a little closer to Haru so that their shoulders brushed against each other. He gestured to the spoon in Haru's grasp. "You can have the first bite."

Haru sighed, dutifully leaning over and taking a spoonful out of the violently pink confection. As he chewed and swallowed, he had to admit that it wasn't that bad, considering how he didn't particularly enjoy sweets. He handed the spoon out to Makoto. "It's chocolate."

"Eh, it is?!" Makoto asked excitedly, taking the spoon and scooping out a piece. The moment he shoved it in his mouth, his eyes widened in delight. "Ah, it's really good!"

Haru couldn't help but want to laugh at seeing his best friend so ridiculously happy because of a Valentine's nightmare of a cake. The grouchy look that had been his default expression for the day softened as he gazed at Makoto's bright smile, his green eyes sparkling and the little dusting of freckles on his nose more visible in the early afternoon sun than usual. Haru's eyes flickered down to his mouth, noticing a pink smear of frosting above his lips. He sighed internally at Makoto's clumsiness, and without really thinking about it, he reached his hand forward and softly swiped it away.

Makoto froze, looking at Haru with wide eyes, completely caught off guard. Haru immediately dropped his hand, feeling a jolt of nerves in his stomach. For the third time that day, that stupid blush made another unwelcome reappearance and Haru quickly looked away in discomfort. "You had frosting on your face," he explained, his voice low and flat.

"O-Oh! I did?" Makoto drew up a hand to touch where the frosting had been. "Thanks, Haru."

Haru nodded mutely, making himself look back at Makoto. "It's no problem."

The ends of Makoto's lips twitched upwards and he exhaled sharply. After a pause, he glanced down at the spoon in his hand. "Oh! Here," he said, offering it to Haru.

Haru took it and scooped another bite of cake. When he turned back to Makoto as he gave him the spoon, he noticed that Makoto's ears were again a bright, crimson red.

* * *

Gou hadn't actually left after giving them the cake, and had been standing behind the door and eavesdropping, hoping to see some results from her first move. She had to cover a giggle as she heard them discussing the spoon, smothering inadvertent noises that came from her mouth with a hand. Feeling daring, she cracked the door open the slightest bit and put her eye right up in the gap. As they ate the cake together, she pulled out her phone, putting the lens of its camera in the gap. When Haru reached up to Makoto's face, she quickly snapped a picture, wanting to squeal in excitement. She stayed and watched them eat the whole cake, but nothing else picture worthy happened, so she shut the door and left before they went to leave the roof.

As she walked down the school's hallway, she quickly typed out a text and sent it with the picture of Haru and Makoto attached. She slipped the phone into the pocket of her blazer and lifted her head, a new bounce and jubilance in her step.

 **To: Hazuki Nagisa**

 **ATTACHED: image  
**

 **Just thought I'd share this :) Are you still sure that you'll win? Because I think I might have just pulled into the lead.**

Within five minutes, she received a response.

 **From: Hazuki Nagisa**

 **not bad, gou-kun :) don't get too confident though, winning a battle doesn't guarantee winning the war ;)) by the way, you can ask anyone in mako-chan and haru-chan's first class how the results of my move went ^-^**

 **also are you taking pictures of them? that's super creepy! O_O**

Gou smiled at her phone, relishing the feeling of competition. She knew that Nagisa wouldn't be easy to beat and she'd have to definitely step up her game to make sure she emerged victorious. Pocketing the phone, she continued to where her friends were eating lunch, her mind whirring with new schemes.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **To be honest, I wouldn't want to eat a pink heart shaped cake with my best friend either eheh.  
**

 **Oh yeah, so Gou is referred to as Kou from Haru's POV since that's what he calls her in the show. Just in case you were thinking that I'm inconsistent hah.**

 **By the way, I kind of have a thing for hands that borders on fetish so please forgive my gratuitous descriptions of hands that will no doubt be littered throughout this entire fic...**

 **So school starts in a couple of days. -high pitched screaming- That means I can't spend as much time on gay fanfiction and instead I have to think about... THE FUTURE. -ominous music- I will continue with this fic, though, so fear not. It just may take longer for me to update.**

 **You know, one day I will post something that doesn't have anything promotional in it, but IT IS NOT THIS DAY. (casual LOTR reference is casual) Y'all should check out my bae sexythroatbitchohyescats's recently updated Makoharu college AU fic because you will cringe and laugh just as much as I did. Funny, we're inverses- I'm trying (key word: trying) to write less crack and she's writing more. Also, our joint Makoharu/eventual Sourin fic The Flames of Heaven will probably be updated more regularly than this or sexythroatbitchohyescats's college AU fic since we have a lot of it already written, so if you like our stuff please read it. -finger pistols-**

 **Hope you enjoyed reading this, as I enjoyed writing it while procrastinating thinking about things like my future... and my career... -sweats nervously- Ahem.**


	3. Orange and Yellow Nostalgia

**To the person who asked whether I ship Reigisa or not: wenfksjdoiwsl OF COURSE I DO. Is it even possible to _not_ ship them? And not to worry, I already had a very entertaining something planned for them. -cackling- **

**After only five days back at school with lots of homework and no free time, I was beginning to go mildly insane, so here we are. I apologize in advance.**

 **I don't own _Free!_.**

* * *

Nothing sounded better to Haru, post a tiring Friday and a dinner of mackerel, than a very long shower and going to bed early. As he twisted the knob of the shower, he exhaled in relief at the familiar hum of water hitting tile. Before even waiting for it to heat up, he stripped out of his clothing and swimsuit and stepped under the heavenly spray. He sighed peacefully, shutting his eyes and letting it flow over his face, his bangs flattening and clinging to his skull like black curtains.

He stood without moving under the stream for a while, thinking over the past week. Normally he didn't really care or pay attention to the lives of others, but something was going on with everyone on the swim team. Kou was bossier and more controlling than usual during practice, Nagisa was unusually giggly and silly, and Rei just seemed tired with everything and everyone. He had no idea whether it was just a fluke or if something had happened, but he didn't have the courage to ask. Their weirdness had even seeped into him and Makoto, with some indescribable tightness hovering over the two of them the entire week. Haru wasn't sure if Makoto had noticed it too, and he felt like bringing it up would just confirm that something weird was going on, so he decided to keep the thought to himself.

After a long time of just letting the water run all over him, Haru sighed and opened his eyes, looking along the rim of the tub to find his shampoo and soap. He leaned over just enough to reach the bottle of shampoo but not enough to break away from the water's reach and picked it up. As he grasped it in his hand, he noticed how awfully light it was compared to what it had been the night before. Fearing the worst, he unscrewed the cap and peered inside, his suspicions confirmed. It was completely empty. _What…?_ He stared inside it for another moment longer, willing for it to refill, but the plastic container remained painfully empty. With a dawning sense of dread, he set it back down on the rim and picked up the conditioner bottle instead, which was also as light as a feather and completely devoid of any conditioner. He dropped it and picked up the soap in desperation, but even that was gone as well.

He glared down at the empty bottles in confusion and irritation, furrowing his brow. _Did someone get into my house…?_ It seemed unlikely, but nothing else seemed any more plausible as to the cause of the sudden disappearance of his bath products. Although, even though he was pretty lax about locking the doors (which Makoto often chided him for), it seemed ridiculous that someone would break in just to empty out his shampoo and conditioner. Biting his lip, he played with the possibility that maybe emptying his bottles was only one thing the intruder had done and there were other little horrors lurking around the house waiting for him.

Sighing, he decided he'd worry about that later and focus on the issue at hand. The thought of going to bed with unwashed hair made him feel all dirty and unpleasant, so he immediately dismissed just washing himself with water, and turned to other options. It was way too late to go to a store and buy more, and that required far more effort than he could summon at the moment. He came to his other option, which shouldn't have felt awkward to him, but nevertheless, it did. There was nothing else he could possibly do, so he chose to go with it.

He lingered for another moment under the shower head, mentally cursing whoever had snuck into his house for interrupting his shower, before reluctantly shutting the water off. Shaking excess drops from his dark hair, he carefully stepped onto the cold bathroom floor and picked up his swimsuit, putting it on over his dripping limbs. He didn't really care about going out just like that, considering he wouldn't be gone for long, since he wanted to return to his shower as soon as possibly. Leaving the bathroom and heading to his front door, he snagged up a pair of shoes and quickly slipped them on before stepping outside.

It was a bit cool out, with the sun almost completely consumed by the horizon, and Haru's soaked body tingled a little at the breeze as he walked down the stairway leading away from his house. His destination came into view, filling him with an inadvertent sense of foreboding that he knew he shouldn't have. He reached the Tachibanas' front door and took in a breath before opening the door, having been past the need to knock for a long time. Once he crossed the threshold, he glanced around to see if anyone was in view, but the entryway was empty. He could hear voices echoing throughout, though, so he decided to head straight to Makoto's room. The door was shut, but there was a little gleam of light that escaped from the crack above the floor, so Haru brought up a hand and gave light knock.

"Yeah?" came the familiar reply.

Haru grabbed the handle and walked in. Makoto lay against a couple of pillows on his bed, a book in his hands and a pair of black framed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He glanced up from his book.

"H-Haru!" he exclaimed, looking startled at the sight of Haru standing in the middle of his room in his swimsuit, wet and dripping. He quickly set his book down on his bedspread and shifted forward so he was sitting on the edge of his bed. "What are you doing here? Why are you in your swimsuit? And all wet?"

"I was in the shower," Haru explained, unperturbed. "And someone must have gotten in my house and poured out my shampoo, so I'm here to borrow some."

"Eh?!" Makoto exclaimed, not looking comforted by Haru's response. "Did you walk outside like that? Wait, did you say someone went into your _house_?!" His forehead creased in worry.

"Yeah," Haru replied, completely calm. "So can I borrow some shampoo?"

Makoto blinked, looking like he only just realized why Haru was in his room. "Y-Yeah, of course!" he stammered. He frowned, looking unsettled. "It's just, it's kind of scary that someone went into your house. Haru, you need to remember to lock the doors!"

Haru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know," he grumbled. How many times had he heard Makoto say that?

"Haru, are you not scared that someone was in your house?!" Makoto fretted, his voice squeaking. "You should be really concerned!" He lifted his eyebrows. "Maybe you should stay the here tonight, just to be on the safe side. Tomorrow's Saturday, anyways."

Haru shrugged. "If it makes you feel better," he replied.

Makoto nodded nervously. "Yeah, I'd be too worried if you stayed there," he said, his green eyes big and anxious. He set down a hand on his bed and pressed himself to standing. "So… um, do you want to finish your shower? You're kind of dripping," he said with a little hint of a chuckle, gesturing to the splatters of water falling to his carpet.

Haru glanced down at the carpet almost apologetically, before bringing his eyes back to Makoto and giving him a small nod. Makoto smiled and tilted his head, looking relieved, his tension ebbing away as he stepped to his dresser. He opened a couple of drawers and pulled out some articles of clothing, putting them into a neat stack.

"Here," he offered, straightening up and handing them to Haru with a warm smile.

"Thanks," Haru said, taking the clothes from Makoto. He turned and left the room to head to the bathroom.

"I'll let my mom know that you're here," Makoto called out quietly. Haru turned to look back over his shoulder, seeing him leaning against his arm in the doorframe. He met Makoto's gaze for a moment, before he turned back around and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Haru quickly turned on the water and removed his swimsuit before jumping in. He sighed in relief as he was returned to the sanctuary that he had so unceremoniously been forced to postpone. Taking into account that he was in someone else's house, he didn't take nearly as long as he would have at home, washing his hair and body at what was probably considered a normal pace compared to his usual luxurious cleansing. Once he felt clean, he stood underneath the spray of warmth for only another minute before forcing himself to shut the water off and step out.

After picking up a towel and drying himself off, he turned his gaze to the pile of clothes that Makoto had lent him, set on the sink counter. A little smile crossed his lips. Sitting on top, folded neatly, was a familiar soft, calming orange and yellow shirt. In the many times that Haru had borrowed and worn clothing of Makoto's, he often picked out that shirt. He wasn't quite sure what he liked about it; it was a bit too big for him and drooped off his shoulders, but for some reason it comforted him, and it always had the same smell. Although he had never verbally expressed that it was his favorite, Makoto seemed to know and made a point of offering it when he had the chance.

Haru put on the clothes, feeling cozy, and picked up his swimsuit before leaving the bathroom. He draped a towel around his neck to catch any drops from the ends of his hair, not wanting to make a repeat of dripping all over Makoto's floor. The door to Makoto's room was ajar, so he pushed it open with a hand, scanning the room and realizing that Makoto wasn't there. He padded across the carpet and sank down into the bed to wait for Makoto to return, bouncing slightly with the springs. He sighed, drawing a hand to rub his eyes, and when he blearily opened them, something on Makoto's desk caught his attention.

It was a hardback book with a violently fuschia cover, its spine facing Haru with gold emblazoned characters, only one of which he could decipher from his distance: _Love._ Curious, Haru stood up from the bed and approached the desk, turning the book around so he could read its title in entirety. In loopy, swirly strokes, it read: _The Real Love Guide: Everything You Need to Know From Dealing With Crushes to Dating to Marriage_.

Haru stared at it in abject shock and horror, rereading the title again just to make sure he wasn't imagining it. _What…?_ Why was this on Makoto's desk? Why would it be in Makoto's possession in the first place? With morbid fascination, he opened it and randomly flipped through the pages, hoping to gain some clue as to why it existed here, but seeing chapter titles like "First Loves" and "Confessing" only made him more confused, a weird sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He wasn't given any time to process this discovery, however, as Makoto reentered the room, making him quickly snap the book shut and step away. Makoto noticed what Haru had just been flicking through, his eyes widening in mortification and his face turning pink.

"A-Ah, that's not mine!" Makoto spluttered, waving his hands spastically. "I found it in my backpack!"

Haru blinked and exhaled. "Oh," he replied, feeling almost relieved.

"Y-Yeah, someone must have accidentally put in there!" Makoto continued to explain vehemently, his voice high. His chest rose and fell agitatedly. "I set it on my desk when I checked if there was a name or something in it," he said a bit more calmly, rubbing the back of his neck, his face combating the shade of pink on the cover of the book in vibrancy. "I didn't find anything." He chuckled shakily. "Weird how it ended up in my backpack, huh?"

Haru dipped his chin. "Yeah," he agreed.

After an awkward pause, Makoto dropped the hand that was at the back of his neck. "Well, um…" He stepped to the desk and picked up the book, shoving it into a pocket of his backpack, before straightening up and looking back at Haru. "Do you want to do something? It's still pretty early, we could play a game or something."

Haru shook his head. "No, I'm tired," he answered. "I just want to go to sleep."

"Oh, okay," Makoto said, the slightest hint of disappointment flashing across his face before being replaced by a small smile. "I'm pretty tired too. Oh, I completely forgot!" He slapped a hand to his forehead at a sudden realization. "Ren has a friend spending the night too, so he's using the futon." His green eyes flashed apologetically. "Sorry. Um…" He glanced around the room, as if sizing it up, before meeting Haru's eyes again. "I can sleep on the floor."

"Oh," Haru breathed, lowering his brows. "But…" He stopped, feeling odd again watching Makoto's eyebrows rise in apprehensive anticipation. He inhaled sharply. "Your bed is big enough for two people."

Makoto's eyebrows raised beneath his messy bangs. "O-Oh, um, yeah, I guess it is," he mumbled, blinking his eyes over to the bed before returning them to Haru. The sparkling green appeared bigger and wider behind the magnified lenses. "I-If you're okay with that, I mean."

Haru swallowed and nodded. "It's fine," he confirmed. "We used to share beds a lot when we were younger, anyways."

"Ah, that's true," Makoto replied, his head bobbing up and down to affirm his agreement. Although, when he brought his eyes back to Haru's, their emerald reflected the thought that had passed through both of their minds but neither wanted to voice. _But we're not younger anymore._ Haru tried to shove the thought away. What did it matter? They were still the same, still best friends, still knew each other better than anyone else. As he had said himself, they had shared a bed countless times before, so why would this time be different?

Makoto turned and shut his door, before coming back and flopping down onto his bed, sighing tiredly and removing his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and leaned over to place his glasses on his bedside table before scooting onto the side along the wall. Even though the last time they had shared a bed was before high school, Makoto still remembered to sleep alongside the wall, because Haru would always wake up first and this allowed him to easily get up without having to awkwardly clamber over Makoto.

After tearing his eyes away from Makoto, Haru drew his hands up to the towel around his neck and brought it over his head, gently massaging his hair dry. He looked down at the carpet as he worked, the fabric of the towel like blinders around his eyes. Once he felt sufficiently dry, he removed the towel and laid it over the back of the desk's chair to let it air out overnight. He turned and approached the bed, avoiding Makoto's gaze as he lifted up the bedspread and slipped in. Makoto was nearly in the wall trying to give Haru space, but Haru hugged the outside because he didn't want Makoto to be crammed either. The unnecessarily large gap between them seemed to physically exemplify what Haru had been thinking about earlier, with the new tension and awkwardness between them that hadn't been there before.

Haru didn't like it.

Sighing, he scooted closer to Makoto, hoping that Makoto would understand his message. After a breath, Makoto too shifted towards the center, until their shoulders were touching. Even though they were barely touching, the little bit of pressure was weirdly warm, and the feeling spread to the rest of Haru's body, in particular his face. Trying to shake the sensation off, Haru sat up and gestured to Makoto's bedside lamp, and Makoto quickly nodded to show that he could turn it off. Once the light was extinguished and they were covered in darkness, Haru laid his head back down onto the soft pillow, the last image of the slight flush on Makoto's cheeks burning in his eyes as they adjusted to the dark.

They lay in silence with their shoulders touching for a couple of minutes, taking in quiet breaths, before Makoto broke the quiet. "Goodnight, Haru," he murmured softly, and Haru felt him shifting to his side, the bed dipping with his weight. His back now was facing him.

"Goodnight, Makoto," Haru whispered back after a pause, also shifting away until they were back to back.

It took him considerably longer than usual to fall asleep, his pulse thumping loudly in his ears and masking the stiff quietness of the room. What was going on? What about this week had made everything so awkward? It scared Haru, making the worst thought pop into his head: were him and Makoto drifting apart? They had been friends for such a long time that he supposed it wouldn't be unusual, but the idea of no longer being friends with Makoto made his stomach clench. _No, that's not happening,_ he told himself, trying to control the whirlwind of thoughts so he go to sleep. He could tell that Makoto was also still awake for a while, rigid and quiet, but eventually his breath evened out and he began to snore lightly. Haru lay there for a little longer, blocking painful images until the rhythm of Makoto's snores eventually lulled him to sleep.

* * *

When sunshine hit his eyelids the next morning, Haru furrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, his eyes groggily adjusting to the brightness filtering in from Makoto's window. It took him a moment to process that he was facing Makoto, who was still asleep and snoring softly, and that the hands resting on Makoto's chest were his own. Confused and still half asleep, Haru glanced down to see that Makoto's arm was draped around his waist. Surprised, he looked back up to Makoto's face, completely oblivious in his sleep.

The back of Haru's mind was telling him to move, but Makoto looked so peaceful that he didn't want to disturb him, and he had to admit he wasn't uncomfortable. Rather, he felt kind of… soothed. Normally, he would have immediately removed any unnecessary contact, but his sleep laden mind only paid attention to how warm and cozy he felt. So when Makoto sighed in his sleep and pulled Haru closer, Haru didn't move away. For the first time at a sleepover, he didn't get up and felt himself growing drowsy again, his eyelids drooping until shutting completely.

They stayed there for an indeterminable amount of time, with Haru in a half awake, half asleep state, his thoughts fleeting and intangible. All he was aware of was the gentle pressure from Makoto's touch and the clean, nostalgic scent of the pillows and bedspread. He felt himself slipping back into sleep and let the trance wash over him, slowly drawing breaths in rhythm with Makoto's. But he didn't get much time to rest, because the bang of Makoto's door jolted him awake and someone suddenly flung their entire body on top of him and Makoto. They both jumped in fright, Makoto letting out a shrill scream in surprise.

Blinking his eyes at the rude awakening, Haru sat up as far as he could with the person's weight on top of him to see who was ruining his morning. Although he wasn't surprised, anger and irritation immediately began to brew at the sight of honey curls and magenta eyes glimmering almost coyly.

" _Good_ morning, Haru-chan and Mako-chan!" Nagisa intoned cheerfully, winking.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **LOOK AT ALL OF THAT PLOT CONVENIENCE AND FANSERVICE. -cannonballs into a trash can- What have I become? What happened to not falling into the common traps? Sigh. And look at that almost cliffhanger ending. What quality.**

 **I must thank sexythroatbitchohyescats for the original idea of incorporating a love advice book. So much cringe. It's lovely.**

 **God, it's so so terrible to go back to writing essays and not gay fanfiction. I'm not sure how I'll be able to survive this year. -overwhelming existential crisis- Sighhh. So anyways, I hope you enjoyed my blatant plot convenience and fanservice hahah, and I hope you're not as stressed as I am. -internal screaming-  
**


	4. Puddle Envy

**THIS FIC LIVES AGAIN, FINALLY. And this chapter is so long good god.**

 **I don't own _Free!_.**

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There were some things that Haru found nice to wake up to, like sunshine and clean sheets and the scent of mackerel cooking, but Hazuki Nagisa jumping on top of him was not one of those things.

"EH?!" Makoto screeched, recoiling and clutching the bedspread to himself. His hair was sticking up in a variety of different directions, which Haru might have found amusing if a dark cloud of doom were not hanging over him. "What are you doing in my room?!"

Nagisa shrugged. "Well, I was just looking for you, Mako-chan, and then I was going to go to Haru-chan's." He grinned wickedly, leaning forward to raise an eyebrow. "But I guess I'm saved a trip up the stairs!"

"Nagisa…" Haru growled, glaring at the blond under half shut lids. He wasn't enjoying what Nagisa was implying with his tone.

"Sorry to wake you both," Nagisa said cheerfully, not looking sorry at all. "You looked _awfully_ comfortable…"

Makoto paled, blinking his wide eyes. "Ren's friend was using the futon!" he squeaked in vain. "And Haru was staying the night because someone got into his house!"

Nagisa raised his eyebrows, not impressed with Makoto's words. "Sure, sure, if you say so, Mako-chan," he taunted, wryly winking. Makoto balked. "Pretty convenient explanations, I'd say." He leaned forward, his luminescent magenta eyes looking at them intensely. "Hm, did you say that someone got into Haru-chan's house?"

"Yeah, someone poured out my shampoo," Haru answered, his voice low and irritated.

Nagisa raised a hand and fingered through his curls, laughing nervously. "Oh wow, that's crazy!" he exclaimed, a bit unnecessarily loud. "Who would do something like that?"

A prickle of suspicion crawled underneath Haru's skin, and he leaned forward to squint at the breaststroke swimmer, who leaned away from Haru in response. "Wait…" Nagisa squirmed underneath his intense scowl. "Nagisa, was it you that poured them out?"

"Oh, _no_ , I wouldn't!" Nagisa shook his head, waving his hands desperately. "I mean, it's pretty funny, now that I think of it…"

Haru whipped the bedspread off his torso and leaned towards Nagisa threateningly, a violent glint in his eyes. Nagisa immediately scooted back, his eyes half terrified, half amused. A hand immediately grabbed Haru's arm, holding him back.

"Haru. Haru!" Makoto pleaded, his voice cracking. He gently tugged on Haru's arm, and Haru stared down Nagisa for another heated moment before leaning back onto the pillows with a huff. Once sure Haru wasn't about to go after Nagisa again, Makoto released his arm and turned his attention to the blond. "Why did you pour out Haru's shampoo, Nagisa?" he asked, his eyebrows cinching in confusion.

Nagisa rubbed the back of his head, his shoulders inching up. "Uh, I don't know…" he chuckled weakly. "A harmless prank?"

Makoto sighed and shook his head, while Haru folded his arms, glowering. "We'll leave that for another time," Makoto suggested diplomatically. "So why are you here _now_?"

"Did you sneak into Makoto's house too?" Haru asked grumpily, arching an eyebrow.

Nagisa turned his head to him, looking mildly offended. "I did not, Haru-chan," he rebutted, sticking out his bottom lip. "Well, I didn't really _knock_ , but Mako-chan's mom was there and she seemed perfectly happy to see me!"

Haru sighed, sending Nagisa a death glare.

"Anyways," Nagisa continued, ignoring the look Haru was giving him. "I'm here with Rei-chan, he's waiting outside because he said it's rude to just walk into someone's house-"

"It is."

"-because I thought it might be fun to have a team day out!" he finished exuberantly, letting his hands flop onto the bed, looking at Haru and Makoto expectantly.

"Ah… What does 'a team day out' entail, exactly?" Makoto questioned, apprehensively bringing up a hand to scratch his forehead.

"I'm glad you asked, Mako-chan!" Nagisa said, sitting up excitedly. Haru felt a sudden twisting in the pit of his stomach at the gleam in Nagisa's eyes. "I was thinking we'd go get a little late breakfast and then maybe visit some stores or maybe the park."

"Oh," Makoto said, looking surprised. He gave Haru a look that said, _Well, that doesn't sound so bad_. Haru shrugged in response, still wary of the hint of devilry behind the seemingly innocent expression on Nagisa's face. "I mean, Haru and I didn't have anything planned, and you guys are already here," Makoto noted, glancing at Haru for approval. "Sounds like it'd be fun!"

"Yay!" Nagisa squealed, flopping forward to pull Makoto and Haru into a tight hug, Haru grumbling as Nagisa's candy sweet scent flooded his nose. The hug lingered far too long for Haru's taste, but eventually Nagisa released them and sat back down on the bed, looking at them expectantly. "Well, go get dressed, then!" he ordered, shooing them away with his hands.

"Nagisa, you're still in my room," Makoto pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck, his bedhead hair sticking up. "I can't exactly 'go' get dressed."

Haru sighed and got up out of the bed, mumbling something about going back to his house to change, leaving Nagisa and Makoto to figure things out. He put his shoes back on before leaving Makoto's room and heading to the front door, giving a small wave in farewell to Mrs. Tachibana, who stood in the kitchen. Outside the door was Rei as Nagisa had described, awkwardly lurking about ten feet from the front door, wringing his hands anxiously. He was visibly relieved at seeing Haru, apologizing profusely on behalf of Nagisa, but Haru tiredly shrugged and waved the sorrys away. After reluctantly telling Rei that he would be back once changed, he progressed up the stairs to his house and entered through the unlocked door.

He trudged to his room, heading straight to his dresser and opening his drawers. He sifted through his clothing for a few minutes, occasionally taking out a possible shirt and laying it on his bed. With five shirts now strategically placed on his sheets, he stood and deliberated over them for a moment, before selecting a sky blue polo tee with a white collar and cuff. Once he had carefully folded and replaced the other shirts back in their drawers, he grabbed the hem of the shirt he was wearing and pulled it over his head, his hair ruffling along with the pull of the fabric. He tossed the shirt to the side and put the polo on, then chose a pair of jeans and slipped out the shorts he was wearing to put them on. He glanced down at the discarded clothing on the floor and picked them up, pausing and lightly running his fingers over the soft fabric of the comforting orange and yellow shirt. A couple of seconds passed, before he returned to his senses and tossed the shorts and the shirt into the laundry. He made a mental note to give them back to Makoto after washing them.

Sighing in muted dread, Haru left his room and headed out his front door, neglecting to lock it once more. As he walked down the stairs, Rei, Nagisa, and Makoto came into view, standing at the base of the stone steps awaiting him. Makoto lifted his eyes to him, his eyebrows raised slightly as he made eye contact. Assessing Haru's expression, he tilted his head and smiled apologetically, knowing Haru's annoyance with the current situation, and Haru felt himself warming up a little bit when faced with Makoto's understanding gaze.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa called out excitedly, waving his arm like a windshield wiper in greeting.

Haru exhaled tiredly in response and continued down the steps, stopping once he reached the bottom and looking at his friends expectantly. "So?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Nagisa.

"Nagisa suggested we go to a particular restaurant he knows," Makoto answered, Haru turning his head to face him. "Apparently it has really good late breakfast foods?"

"Though," Rei interjected, pushing up his scarlet rimmed glasses, "no one but Nagisa-kun is experienced enough in the realm of late breakfast foods to be qualified to judge the quality of it-"

His tirade was abruptly cut off when Nagisa suddenly jumped to him, his arms flinging wildly around the taller boy's neck and pulling him down to sloppily mash their lips together. Rei's eyes bugged out in shock behind magnified lenses, awkwardly stumbling a few steps back with the force of Nagisa's momentum into him, the frames of his glasses appearing to disappear into his face as his cheeks flushed the same vibrant shade of red. Nagisa followed Rei's clumsy backward movements, keeping their mouths glued together by a scarily strong grip to the back of Rei's neck. After a few moments, Rei appeared to calm down enough to sink into the kiss (though in Haru's mind the action was too crude to be called a kiss and not, instead, two trains colliding) and closed his eyes, letting Nagisa take control by pulling them even more disgustingly close.

Haru stood frozen, watching them with a mixture of repulsion and shock, wanting to tear his eyes away from the carnage before him and finding himself unable to. He knew that Nagisa and Rei had been kind of a thing for a while, but other than being mildly congratulatory, he never really cared about their newfound relationship. Nagisa was affectionate and clingy with everyone, so it hadn't been that much of a difference for him to be slightly more cuddly with Rei than the rest of them (though Haru was still the victim of many unwanted hugs). But what was going on in front of him was… new. Haru had never pictured Rei and Nagisa kissing in his mind, and he had certainly never wanted to, but there they were, limbs wrapped around each other and mouths moving in messy, saliva dripping motions.

Haru could sense Makoto standing statue-like beside him, similar waves of discomfort radiating off of him like distress signals. Neither of them could say or do anything in the midst of Rei and Nagisa's entanglement, and instead watched with horrified eyes as Nagisa's small hands slid off of Rei's neck, traveling down between his shoulderblades. They paused for a moment, pressing into the purple fabric of Rei's shirt, before slowly sliding down to the slight arch of his lower back and plunging further to firmly grip the back of dark, denim jeans.

"N-Nagisa-kun!" Rei spluttered, awkwardly breaking off the lip mashing and shoving the blond away. He looked as if he were about to faint, his face a steaming crimson with glasses askew, agape mouth expelling mortified puffs of air. Violet eyes frenetically flitted from Nagisa demurely batting his magenta eyes to Haru and Makoto stiffly staring back at him with paled faces and shocked expressions. Rei widened his already open mouth to say something, but all he could manage was a high pitched wheeze.

There was an uncomfortably thick pause as they stood in silence at the foot of the stairs, Haru and Makoto still petrified and Rei looking like his soul was slowly evaporating out from his body. Only Nagisa wasn't bothered, absentmindedly rocking back and forth on his heels, deceivingly angelic golden locks bobbing.

Makoto inadvertently broke the silence by stammering incoherent syllables. "A-Ah, u-u-uhn." Haru looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, still immobile, and met an unusually pale face, those vibrant green eyes clashing with the sickly green tint in Makoto's skin. Haru tried to swallow the uncomfortable lump in his throat, sure he looked much the same as Makoto, and looked back at his other two teammates.

Nagisa sighed dramatically and put his hands on his hips, obviously annoyed and nonplussed with them all gaping at each other in horror. "Well, let's go!" he said, completely diverting away from what had just happened. "Come on, Rei-chan!" He grabbed Rei by the hand and pulled him away from Haru, Makoto, and the stairs, Rei letting out a little yelp as he lurched forward. Nagisa promptly continued marching ahead, not even looking back to see if they were following as he dragged Rei alongside him.

Haru blinked, trying desperately to block out the image of what he had just witnessed, but it was now permanently etched into his mind. Makoto shuffled his body around to face him with a similar expression of confusion and embarrassment, his eyes cast down and the disconcerting paleness now replaced with a faint pink. "U-Um," he mumbled, drawing a hand up to the back of his neck. He glanced to where Nagisa was charging away, blinking and raising his eyebrows before turning back at Haru. "I guess we should follow?"

After taking a moment to process what Makoto had said, Haru distractedly jolted a nod, his muscles lagging to respond to his brain's commands. He finally took a step forward, feeling like his body was trying to break free from a plaster encasement as his stiffness slowly and awkwardly decreased. Makoto fell into step with him, and they followed after Nagisa and Rei, although staying a considerable distance behind. Rei was no longer being dragged, and Nagisa now clutched his arm and leaned into his shoulder. Haru resisted a shudder. Of all days, why did Nagisa want to emphasize his relationship with Rei _today_? It felt more like a spectacle than just a usual public display of affection, but he couldn't find a logical explanation for why. As cuddly and outgoing as Nagisa was, his actions had never been so brash and sudden before, and even at his most ridiculous moments, there was always an underlying reason. He knew Nagisa well enough to know that his outlandish displays were not merely for entertainment.

Haru and Makoto walked in silence, both absorbed in their own thoughts and occasionally eyeballing Nagisa's death grip on Rei's arm. "Hm," Makoto murmured softly, snapping Haru out of his reverie. "They've been acting awfully odd lately, have you noticed?"

Haru exhaled and glanced in Makoto's direction, admiring his uncanny ability to put words to his thoughts. "Yeah," he agreed. He flicked a look to their two friends, smothering a grimace at Nagisa ferociously nuzzling into Rei's shoulder like a cat marking their territory. It was so overwhelmingly deliberate that it almost seemed like just being glued to Rei wasn't enough for Nagisa, that he wouldn't be content until he could break through Rei's skin and somehow worm himself inside him.

Haru stopped short as he realized what he had just thought. Unwittingly, a cascade of images and thoughts regarding Rei and Nagisa that were fit only for the depths of hell tumbled into his mind, too swift and fleeting for him to do anything but stand there as his own mind tortured him. _Oh no._ The grimace he had been able to smother earlier now resurfaced, and he scrunched his eyes shut, desperately trying to block the tidal wave of horrific images from his conscious.

Makoto stopped a couple of steps ahead, turning back to look at Haru with furrowed brows. "Haru-chan?" he asked, his green eyes seeped with concern and confusion. "What's wrong?"

Haru swallowed, his throat constricted, and gave a sharp shake of his head. "Nothing," he lied unconvincingly. He had no problems sharing things with Makoto, but the last thing he ever wanted to bring up was how he had unintentionally visualized Rei and Nagisa… He couldn't even finish the statement without his body shuddering violently despite the warmth of the air around him. "Don't call me -chan," he muttered, casting his eyes down and quickly walking past by Makoto.

"Ah, um!" Makoto mumbled inarticulately, jumping forward to try to catch up with Haru's power walk. It only took a moment until he was back by Haru's side again, considering his legs were longer than Haru's, and Haru could sense him glancing at him curiously. Haru had no desire whatsoever to ever explain himself, mostly because he wasn't sure he could survive putting words to the images that now plagued his mind.

They followed their two younger friends through the town, eventually being led to a small, alarmingly yellow breakfast restaurant that made Haru's insides coil the minute it came into view. It was the kind of place that only Nagisa or someone under the age of ten would like, with its assaultingly vibrant paint colors and decorations and irritatingly cheerful staff that collected their orders. While sat in the squishy cotton candy colored booth opposite Rei and Nagisa, Haru wondered if it were a coincidence that he had ended up next to the wall with Makoto beside him blocking the exit, considered thoughts about bolting out the door ran on repeat. He was almost tempted to jump on the table to make his escape, but dismissed it as too much effort.

To add salt to his wounds, the restaurant didn't serve mackerel. _What kind of breakfast restaurant doesn't serve mackerel?_ he grumbled internally as the orange-pink slab of salmon he had settled for glared at him from a plate with a pattern of daisies. Nagisa immediately dove into devouring whatever sugary, frosted thing he constituted as a breakfast less than a second after the waitress had set it down on the table. At least the food distracted him from his unnecessary clinging of Rei's arm, letting Haru have a moment where he didn't have to actively shove those terrible images down a dark chasm.

They ate quickly, the conversation easily supplied by Nagisa with a mouth full of white frosting and bread, much to Rei's chagrin. Haru had no appetite, which partly had to do with the salmon and partly with his irritated mood. After about ten minutes of listlessly pushing around the fish with a chopstick, Haru felt Makoto nudge his side, seeming to say a combination of _Be polite, You need to eat breakfast_ , and _Humor Nagisa_. Haru sighed and reluctantly shoved a bit of coral colored fish into his mouth, swallowing it quickly so he didn't have to taste it. Makoto smiled, and Haru grumpily took another bite. He managed to eat about half of the salmon by the time everyone else finished, which he congratulated himself on, and Nagisa bounded up from the table.

"Onward!" he exclaimed, grabbing Rei's arm yet again and yanking him up out of the booth. The smaller boy tugged the taller one all the way out the door in a flurry, leaving Haru and Makoto still sitting on the booth.

Makoto ran his fingers through his hair, which had tamed down from the bedhead mess it had been earlier. "I guess we should to pay for this," he said, nodding towards the empty plates, save the salmon, sitting neglected on the table. He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, opening it and sifting through its contents.

Haru could tell from the smallest furrow in his brow and the hint of disappointment within the jade that Makoto didn't have enough money to pay for it. Makoto continued to look through his wallet in desperation, because he always stupidly refused to ask someone else to pay for something. _He doesn't need to be such a cavalier about it_ , Haru thought, sighing and pulling out his own wallet to slap a couple of yen bills on the table.

"Oh, Haru!" Makoto objected, fervently clutching his disproportionately small wallet in his large, muscular hands. "You don't need to pay for it!"

"You don't have enough money," Haru said bluntly, scooting into Makoto to emphasize how he wanted to leave. "Let's go."

Makoto let out a squeak in protest, but upon noticing the stubborn look in Haru's eyes, realized the futility of challenging him. He slowly scooted out of the booth and stood up, offering a hand to Haru to pull him out of the seat. Haru glanced down at the hand for a moment, before slipping his hand into it. Rough ridges of callouses grazed against his palm as Makoto gently gripped him, and he let Makoto pull him to standing. Makoto smiled brightly and held onto Haru's hand for a moment before releasing. Haru let his hand fall to his side, looking up into Makoto's reflective eyes and seeing himself within them. They stood frozen for a pause, before Makoto shuffled his feet and smiled again.

"Well, let's go," he said, echoing Haru's words from before. He made a move towards the door, looking over his shoulder for Haru to follow.

Haru blinked. "Yeah," he replied, taking steps forward. He swallowed, a weird feeling lingering in his chest a moment before ebbing away.

After finally exiting the pastel restaurant, Haru and Makoto followed after the other two, Nagisa yet again with his head against Rei's shoulder and clutching his arm like his life depended on it. Haru and Makoto distanced themselves from the pair, and distanced themselves from each other as well. It was almost inversely related; the closer Rei and Nagisa got, the more Haru and Makoto drifted away. Haru let his legs take him forward while trying not to overthink the scenario before him.

Suddenly, Nagisa halted on the sidewalk, looking over across the road to something by the other set of shops. "Is that Rin-chan?" he questioned, squinting his magenta eyes. Haru turned his gaze over to where Nagisa's eyes were aiming and sure enough, there was their maroon haired old team member, hands stuffed in pockets and earbuds in ears. "It is!" Without a moment's hesitation, Nagisa dropped Rei and jumped forward into the street. He didn't look to see whether a car was coming or not, as there were multiple that voiced their displeasure through honking, but by some unnatural luck made it to the other side despite his haphazard fashion.

Even from fifty feet away, Haru could hear Rin's loud, strangled squawk as Nagisa tackled him in a hug. "Oi!"

"NAGISA-KUN!" Rei barked, flapping his arms spastically. He made a point of looking both ways for evidence of approaching cars before marching after the tenacious blond, eventually resting beside an irate Rin and a joyous Nagisa with his hands on his hips. "That was dangerous!" he berated, a stern look on his face, somehow clinging to the notion that Nagisa was at all listening to him.

Makoto looked over at Haru with wide, almost amused eyes, before he too glanced both directions and crossed the street. Haru followed after him. However, once he made it to the other side, the full image of Rin baring his teeth at Nagisa, who had his legs wrapped around his torso, and Rei prattling on about vehicular and pedestrian safety made Haru wish he had stayed where he was.

"Get- OFF!" Rin snarled, wrangling his arms out of Nagisa's clutch and unsuccessfully attempting to shove the smaller boy away. Nagisa just giggled and squeezed him tighter in response. Haru had never been able to find an explanation for how a 5'4" cream puff of a teenage boy could muster so much strength to overpower nearly everyone else. He was a bit too afraid to really seek out an answer, so made sure to keep a wary eye on the breaststroke swimmer.

"NAGISA!" the redhead shouted, baring his angular teeth in frustration and violently trying to tug Nagisa off of him in vain.

Nagisa giggled again and gave one last bone crunching squeeze before letting go and stepping away from Rin, beaming effervescently. "Rin-chaaaaaaaaaan," he cooed, flashing his traitorously dazzling smile. "It's been _so_ loooooong. You never talk to me anymore!" He pouted, placing his hands on his hips.

Rin ran his fingers through his velvety hair, scowling. "With good reason," he growled, wincing as he rubbed his ribs, obviously left with remnants of Nagisa's hug. "Jesus, you are the most cuddly person I know."

"Other people are cuddly too!" Nagisa rebutted, folding his arms and sticking out his tongue. He flicked his gaze to Haru. "Even Haru-chan is cuddly!"

Haru frowned, confused by what Nagisa could possibly be referring too, when the startlingly crystal image of Nagisa finding him asleep wrapped in Makoto's arms with his hands on Makoto's chest returned to his conscious with a vengeance. Somehow he had managed to forget it, only for it to resurfaced. A pang of embarrassment and anger walloped Haru, and he deepened his frown at Nagisa, who grinned maliciously. "Nagisa-"

"What?" Nagisa replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I'll admit I was surprised to see you so _close_ to-"

"Nagisa!" Heat flamed to Haru's face and he screamed internally, wanting to dissolve. He felt Makoto stiffen beside him and he carefully avoided glancing in his direction. Images of strangling Nagisa and becoming a puddle on the sidewalk flickered interchangeably. Both would solve his problems and minimize his discomfort.

Makoto was blushing too.

 _Why is this so uncomfortable?_

Surprisingly, Nagisa shut up, but he still wiggled his eyebrows at Haru and made him feel overwhelmingly defensive. _It's not that big of a deal!_ he wanted to scream. _We were both asleep!_

Rin kept flicking his eyes back and forth, entertained. "I don't know what's going on here," he hinted, fishing for someone to fill him in.

To Haru's relief, Nagisa didn't say anything, but his big eyes still looked at Haru suggestively enough to make him want to be a puddle.

When it became apparent that no one was going to spill the details, Rin sighed and folded his arms. "Fuck you guys," he grumbled, looking disappointed. He sighed again, before a thought hit him. "Oh, um, Haru." He stuck his hand into the pocket of his backpack.

"What?" Haru asked.

"This," Rin replied, pulling something out of his backpack and slapping it into Haru's hand. His eyes were uncharacteristically shameful and cast to the ground. "You owe me."

Perplexed, Haru brought the thing up to his eyes to inspect. It was a slim but weighted piece of plastic, which he immediately recognized as a hard drive. _Why is Rin giving randomly giving me a hard drive?_ he wondered, minutely pinching his eyebrows together. He flipped it over in his hand, looking for an explanation, and instead of getting one, a tidal wave of more questions crashed into his mind. On the other side, written in Rin's messy scrawl on a small white label, was _Playlist of Best Sensual Songs_.

Time grinded to a halt as Haru's eyes bored into that little white label, his body completely immobile with confusion. Deep blue eyes narrowed in on the word _sensual_ again and again, trying to confirm that it was, in fact, the word written on the hard drive, and not just a trick of the light or his mind playing tricks. Despite how badly he wished he misread it, the word was definitely there. Slowly, Haru lengthened his neck one vertebrae at a time to finally fix upon Rin with a mixture of disgust and mortification.

Rin narrowed his eyes, looking insulted. "What the hell are you giving me that look for?" he complained, his voice low. " _You_ asked for it."

His words were like a punch to the gut. "I did not," Haru countered, shaking his head feverishly, his pulse thumping in his ears. "Why would I want that?"

"I don't fucking know!" Rin growled belligerently, flashing his sharp teeth. " _You're_ the one who asked me to make a playlist! It's not like I could psychoanalyze you or something, not that it's not tempting."

"A _playlist_?" Before Haru could react, Nagisa had snatched the hard drive from Haru's hands and was reading the label with zeal. The minute the words had been encoded into his brain, he glanced over his shoulder at Haru. "Ooooh, _Haruuuuu_ -chaaaaan," he said slyly, excruciatingly extending the syllables of Haru's name. He arched his eyebrows. " _Sensual_ songs, huh?" An awful, knowing smile passed over his lips.

Haru's mouth went dry. "I didn't-" he tried to choke out, when he suddenly became aware of Makoto staring at him from his side, silent but his emerald eyes wide with curiosity and surprise. _No no no no no no._ The only thing worse than Nagisa thinking that he had asked Rin for a playlist of sensual songs was _Makoto_ thinking that he had asked Rin for a playlist of sensual songs. He wanted to scream loud, vehement denials of anything related to sensual music, but his tongue and vocal chords weren't working very well.

"Rin-chan, does this mean you make sensual song playlists _regularly_?" Nagisa asked coyly, ignoring Haru's world crashing around him.

Rin bristled, his face now a shade of red that clashed with his hair and eyes. "I do _NOT_!" he exclaimed emphatically, clenching his jaw. "Haru said he would do something in return if I did! That's the only reason why I made the damn thing!"

Makoto nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Um, you guys-"

"I never asked you to make a playlist for me," Haru insisted, finally finding his voice.

Rin flipped his head around, deep red garnets darkening dangerously. "Oh really?!" he blasted, whipping out his phone and shoving it in Haru's face. "What the hell is this, then?!" Haru leaned away from Rin's hand in discomfort, squinting as the phone came into focus. Unease began to bridle as he noted the screen appearing to show a text conversation between himself and Rin. "Read it!" Rin ordered, thrusting the phone into Haru's hands. _Oh no._ Filled with anxiety and trepidation, Haru cautiously began to read.

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **Rin**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **haru? why are you texting me**

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **I need a favor. I'll do something in return.**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **um ok….? what is it**

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **You have good taste in music**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **damn right i do. what about it**

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **Will you make a playlist of good sensual songs for me**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **what the FUCK haru**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **WHAT**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **why the HELL do you want one?!**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **actually dont answer that, i dont want to know**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **but why the hell are you asking ME**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **DO I LOOK LIKE I MAKE SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYLISTS TO YOU**

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **Yes**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **SHUT THE FUCK UP ASSHOLE**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **what do you even define sensual music as**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **like water sounds or some shit**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **because i know how terrible your taste in music is**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **oi**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **HARU**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **answer me you prick**

 _ **To Nanase Haruka:**_

 **youre ignoring me because i havent agreed to it, right**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **and because i said your taste in music is terrible**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **FINE im sorry**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **ill make your stupid playlist but i will only use songs i know. no goddamn water sounds. AND i get something in return**

 _ **From: Nanase Haruka**_

 **You can give it to me whenever we see each other next.**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

" **thank you"?**

 _ **To: Nanase Haruka**_

 **well at least i have time to think of what i want you to do in return, you jerk**

The conversation ended there, but the inward coiling of Haru's insides was just beginning. He stared at the phone screen with a gaping mouth, bewildered and feeling like he had just been hit by a bus. "This… wasn't me," he managed to choke out.

"Yeah, it was Pyunsuke," Rin snapped sarcastically. "Haru, it's from your number. Why don't you just open your phone right now and check?"

With an almost unbearable sense of dread, Haru pulled out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and flipped it open. He went to his text messages, desperately praying that there would be no evidence of that conversation, but to his crushing dismay, there remained an exact replica when he selected _Matsuoka Rin_ from his list of contacts. "But-" he protested. "I didn't-"

"Look, Haru, I don't know why the hell you're denying it, because it obviously happened," Rin sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes. He reached forward and grabbed his phone out of Haru's hands.

Haru shook his head. "Someone must have gotten into my phone-" _Nagisa._ He immediately zeroed in on the petite boy, who jumped back in alarm and raised his shoulders as if to say _Wasn't me_. Haru could tell that deep within those sparkling, childish eyes that Nagisa knew _something_ that he didn't care to reveal. _But what?_

"Haru, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to tell if it were someone else," Rin said, deaf to Haru's objections. "No one talks as flatly as you."

The content of Haru's stomach boiled. "But I-"

"But I've thought of what I want you to do in exchange," Rin continued, overriding Haru's defense. "So Gou has recently been going out with Mikoshiba." His expression darkened, as if the name Mikoshiba was a swear word. "I want to keep an eye out for her because she's my little sister but I barely get to see her and there's only so much… um… keeping an eye out I can do-"

"That's highly inappropriate, Rin-san," Rei interjected, pushing up his glasses with an eyebrow raised judgmentally. "It sounds like you're stalking Gou-chan."

"Shut up!" Rei stumbled back, looking alarmed by Rin's outburst. "You would understand if you had a little sister!" Rin huffed, his eyes a burning crimson, and turned his focus back to Haru. "Anyways, I was thinking that maybe, since you're around her more often, you could, you know, check up on her?"

"You want me to spy on her for you," Haru translated, his ears ringing.

Rin rubbed the back of his head, looking mildly ashamed. "Well…" He lifted his eyes back to Haru, arching an eyebrow. "You said you would do something in return."

"But um, watching over Kou-chan for you doesn't seem like an equal trade for a playlist," Makoto observed, biting his lip.

Haru felt himself getting defensive again. "I never asked for the playlist-"

"Okay, OKAY," Rin groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Jesus Christ, interacting with you guys takes years off of my life," he muttered bitterly. Sighing dramatically, he looked back up at Haru with dead, defeated eyes, their fiery red dimmed. "Fine, I get it, you didn't ask for the playlist. Just keep the damn thing. I sure as hell don't want it." Haru scowled at the suggestion, whereas Rin's eyes suddenly gained a little more spark. "I'm willing to offer you something for looking out for Gou, though."

"No," Haru replied flatly.

"Rin, that's an awful thing for you to ask Haru to do!" Makoto complained, his brows creasing.

A devious, predatory smile crossed Rin's lips. "What if," he began, his voice threateningly low, "I told you that I'd buy you mackerel for six months."

"Haru, no-"

"Deal," Haru agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"Haru!" Makoto's eyes widened, a stricken expression on his face.

Rin chuckled darkly, looking pleased with himself. "Let's shake on it," he said, holding out a hand to Haru.

"HARU!" Makoto squawked again, the sole, ignored voice of reason, as Haru had somehow been goaded into the depths of irrationality by the absolutely horrific and singular day he was having.

Haru immediately slipped his hand into Rin's and resisted wincing as Rin tightly squeezed. He squeezed back, dimly enjoying the almost unnoticeable twitch in Rin's eye in response. Rin's hand was around the same size as Haru's, and free of callouses, but they weren't as comforting and inviting as Makoto's. They were too warm, almost hot, and his grip was tight and controlling. Haru didn't want to let go, not because he liked holding Rin's hand, but because he felt it would be a sign of weakness to release first, and he didn't want to give Rin that satisfaction. So he held on, tightening his grip as well to match Rin.

Once they glared at each other over the handshake for another moment, they dropped their hands to their sides at the same time, their fingers aching. Rin drew up his unused hand to shift the strap of his backpack up his shoulder. "Well, not that it hasn't been spectacular talking to you guys, but I need to go," he said, looking like he wanted nothing more than to increase the distance between them and him by several thousand miles. "Give me tabs on Gou, or no mackerel." With that dismal last statement, Rin practically dashed away without offering any sort of polite farewell, disappearing down a street in a receding flash of red.

Nagisa folded his arms and pouted, letting out a puff of air that ruffled his curly bangs. "Rin-chan is so mean," he whined, sticking out his tongue in the general direction where Rin had vanished. After only a moment's disappointment, Nagisa immediately brightened, casting a sideways look to Haru. "So, Haru-chan," he murmured sneakily, arching his delicate eyebrows. "Sensual music, hm?"

Haru thought again that being a puddle would be nice. Just lying on the sidewalk until evaporation, to become rain again. But since he was unfortunately a human, and not two hydrogen atoms bonded with an oxygen atom, he could not be a puddle on the sidewalk. So he chose the next best thing.

"I'm going home," he blurted, fed up and exhausted and desperately wanting to be alone.

"Eh?" Makoto turned to face him, his eyes soft with concern. He blinked. "Do you want me to walk with yo-"

"No," Haru cut in, a bit more harshly than intended. Ignoring the fleeting hurt look on Makoto's face and the inaudible exhale of an "oh", Haru immediately whipped around and began hurrying away, his ears ringing with Nagisa and Rei's complaints and Makoto's silent acceptance.

His mind swirled incoherently, unable to wrap itself around the collection of events that had happened in the past twenty-four hours alone. He was too exhausted to try to think of explanations for why all of his friends were acting so strangely and why all these embarrassing moments kept happening. In his fog, he hadn't even paid attention to the streets as he walked, relying on muscle memory to take him home. It wasn't until he was at his front door that he realized that the hard drive was still clutched in his fingers. He glanced down at the label and read it again.

 _Playlist of Best Sensual Songs._

He shuddered at the memory of Makoto's confused gaze on him, his face heating up with embarrassment. It wasn't even his fault and it was completely out of his control, and yet… He was absolutely mortified.

He was going to have to get some answers about this overabundance of confusion and weirdness.

First, however, he was going to take a _long_ bath.

* * *

Predictably, Makoto only waited about half a second after Haru left before ditching Rei and Nagisa, albeit with an apologetic farewell. The other two were left alone on the sidewalk, a moment of silence passing over them before Nagisa sighed loudly.

"So much for a 'team day out'," he grumbled, sticking his bottom lip out. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

Rei adjusted his glasses and put his hands on his hips, quirking an eyebrow at his smaller friend. After a moment's silence, he inhaled sharply. "Nagisa-kun, this competition between you and Gou-chan is getting out of hand," he chided, shaking his head.

"Eh? Rei-chan, you're so stingy!" Nagisa complained, turning to face the taller boy. He giggled and nuzzled his head against Rei's arm. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy my one tactic!"

"N-Nagisa-kun!" Rei stammered, his face flushing. His violet eyes blinked rapidly behind the magnified lenses. "I've told you that I didn't want to be any part of this competition!"

Nagisa lifted his head, his golden hair mussed, and patted Rei's shoulder. "And you're not, Rei-chan," he assured, his eyes twinkling. "That was just because I wanted to." Rei flushed darker at this statement, stuttering incoherent syllables. "Well, and because I thought it might make Haru-chan and Mako-chan jealous…"

"Nagisa-kun!"

"Sorry, Rei-chan," Nagisa amended, although with a devilish grin. "But I have to pull out all my options if I want to win. I mean, Gou-kun certainly is in it for the win."

Rei frowned, the color in his cheeks dissipating. "Are you saying that what we just witnessed was all Gou-chan's doing?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course! Haru-chan would never ask Rin-chan for a playlist of sensual music!" Nagisa replied.

"So then…" Rei drifted off, his eyes focused to something in the distance, looking like he was configuring something in his mind. "Gou-chan hacked into Haruka-senpai's phone to text Rin-san? And pretended to be Haruka-senpai?"

Nagisa nodded, his eyes wide and gleaming. "Gou-kun is a better actress than expected," he said, raising his eyebrows. "She really captured Haru-chan's spirit."

Rei coughed a laugh before his frown deepened, and he brought up a hand to adjust his glasses again. "Then, did Gou-chan also set up Rin-san by making sure he knew about her relationship with Mikoshiba-san so he'd ask Haruka-senpai to spy on her for him?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Nagisa confirmed, rocking back and forth on his heels. "She's playing Haru-chan and Rin-chan like fiddles."

A look of fear crossed over Rei's face. "I-I say," he stuttered, swallowing nervously. "She's quite… talented."

"A most worthy adversary," Nagisa agreed. He perked up, pointing a finger at Rei. "But don't worry, Rei-chan! I'll still win."

"I wasn't worried," the taller boy muttered. "As I've told you, it is highly unethical for the the two of you to even be participating in this competition, and I refuse to show any favoritism to either of yo-"

"Shh, I know you're rooting for me," Nagisa interjected, placing a finger to Rei's lips. "Don't worry Rei-chan, I have plenty of ideas." He giggled, and stepped forward, a small skip in his step. "Plenty."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So.**

 **? I don't know what the heck this chapter is even. I got Rin in there finally? Sadly, there was not much Makoharu fluff but that shall soon be remedied.**

 **I have been working on this chapter for so long that it hurts my eyes to look at it hahah. Hallelujah for it finally being done. Although the next chapter will probably take me another five thousand years... sigh.  
**


	5. Finger On the Pulse of Something

**I HAVE RISEN FROM THE ASHES OF RESPONSIBILITIES.**

 **I don't own _Free!._**

* * *

The wild and abnormal occurrences lately were screwing with Haru's mind, which meant he had to stick to as many traditions and habits to comfort him and give him some semblance of coherency. One of these traditions was doing homework in Makoto's room early afternoon on Sundays, so the two of them sat next to each other like they always had on Makoto's fluffy carpet.

"So- hm," Makoto said, biting his lip and shuffling through his notes. Haru internally cringed at the mess of papers strewn everywhere, wondering how Makoto managed to find anything without any organization whatsoever. Makoto glanced from the math homework on his lap to the collection of lightly crumpled notes and back again, frowning. He ran a hand through his hair, a couple of strands sticking up, tawny in the early afternoon sun.

"Hm?" Haru grunted in response, looking up from his own homework and immediately recognizing Makoto's state of disarray as a bad sign.

"So-" Makoto looked to Haru's paper, then to his own, and back again, his forehead creased in confusion. He touched the tip of his eraser to Haru's paper. "How'd you get that for number four?"

"Oh." Haru glanced down at his work, having completely forgotten number four. He leaned over Makoto's lap to get a glimpse at what he was struggling with. After taking a moment to make sense of Makoto's messy work, even though he knew his handwriting well enough to replicate it exactly, he tapped the white paper with this pencil. "You forgot to multiple one over x squared by two x."

"Eh? I just though the derivative for natural log was just one over whatever was in the parentheses," Makoto countered, his brows quirking in befuddlement.

"Yes, but then you have to multiply that by the derivative of whatever's in the parentheses," Haru explained, circling x squared. "And the derivative of x squared is two x."

"Oh," Makoto replied, blinking at what Haru was pointing at. "Thanks, Haru."

Haru grunted a welcome and lifted himself from Makoto's lap, returning to his own work as Makoto's mad erasing of his incorrect work rang in his ears. It wasn't uncommon for Haru to assist Makoto with mathematics, and for Makoto to assist Haru with literature. Numbers and functions made sense to Haru; interpreting the meaning of a text and the purpose of its author did not. Haru barely cared about the lives of actual people, let alone fictional ones. Conversely, Makoto absorbed fiction with relish, at ease with deciphering emotions and underlying themes, but numbers held no meaning for him. They had always been like that, since elementary school. It was fortunate that their strengths were in contrast to the other's, otherwise the two of them might have struggled more during their school years.

As he was rewriting the exponents for number seven, Haru's phone buzzed. He paused, setting his pencil parallel to the top of the paper, and slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans. He already knew who would be texting, and he rolled his eyes as he flipped it open. Unsurprisingly and irritatingly, his prediction was confirmed.

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **so any new developments?**

Haru sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He now regretted going along with Rin's ridiculous agreement, as it gave Rin an excuse to text him constantly, and forced Haru to have to reply. _It's for free mackerel_ , Haru kept having to remind himself, resisting the urge to chuck his phone out a window. So far Gou hadn't done or said anything particularly noteworthy, but Rin decided that Haru not paying attention was to blame, not his sister's mundane life. Admittedly, he hadn't really been paying that close attention to Gou, though he felt he would notice if something of interest came up.

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **No**

Immediately after sending the text, Haru promptly turned his phone off and shoved it into a pocket of his backpack, out of sight and out of mind. But as he returned to his math, he found it difficult to concentrate, his mind drifting back to that weekend two weeks ago that he'd rather forget. The strong determination to figure out what on earth was going on with his friends had fizzled as his attempts were wildly unsuccessful. Like a rubberband, everything snapped back to normal. Nagisa's sudden ridiculousness vanished, and there hadn't been any strange embarrassing encounters since. Haru had to assume everything was a fluke, because the evidence showed nothing else.

Well, that wasn't quite true. Haru glanced out of the side of his eye, fixing upon Makoto. Makoto's brows were furrowed in concentration, and he anxiously chewed on the eraser, emerald eyes reading over derivatives and variables. The only thing that hadn't returned to normal was Haru and Makoto's relationship. Instead of a rubberband going back to its original form, they were more like taffy, stretching and changing the more they were pulled. Pulled by what, Haru could not figure out. Before, the tension between them had only been an odd, prickly feeling in the back of Haru's skull, but now he saw it translated into tangible instances. He'd noticed how often both of them spoke so hesitantly with each other, when they spoke at all. Normally verbal communication wasn't required, but it was less like they knew what the other was thinking and more like neither could think of anything to say. Makoto's face, which he knew so well, was becoming increasingly inscrutable, even though there was no apparent outward change. No one but Haru would notice.

Makoto hadn't even said anything after that weekend. Usually he would have laughed and lightly teased Haru, but he acted as if it hadn't happened. Although Haru would rather the memories of Nagisa and Rei's kiss and sensual playlists remain burning in hell, Makoto's silence was strange. Especially because he had appeared to have been just as affected as Haru in the moment.

Haru sighed, watching Makoto worriedly run his fingers through his hair, his grassy eyes trained down to the paper. Lost in the world of velocity and acceleration, his eyebrows twitched and he scratched his scalp, and as he withdrew his hand, his brown bangs were left even more mussed. For some reason, Haru found it comforting to watch Makoto, although somewhat worried about him struggling, but he knew if he had a question, he would ask. As Haru sat absentmindedly gazing over Makoto, an eerie sensation suddenly bloomed in his hands, one hand gripping his paper and the other his pencil. It was like all the blood in his body pooled in those two spots, thundering with his pulse. They trembled as if stimulated by electric charges, completely separate from the rest of him, which remained completely normal. _What…?_ Haru squinted at his shaking fingers, perplexed. This was new.

Inhaling, Haru tightened his grip around the pencil and turned his attention back to drawing a graph. After about three seconds of trying to draw it, his usually smooth, neat curves and lines looked wobbly and sloppy because his hand was quaking so uncontrollably. He lifted the tip of the graphite from the paper and stared at his hands, frowning concernedly, before flipping the pencil to his eraser and grumpily erasing the graph. Once the messy work was returned to blank white, with the faintest remnants of pencil marks, Haru huffed in irritation and put his math on the carpet beside him and picked up the book containing the short story they were supposed to read for literature. He figured that he should try doing homework that didn't require writing until his hands stopped trembling.

As Haru began flipping through the pages to find the story, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He froze, glancing to his side to find Makoto looking at him with a puzzled expression. "What?"

Makoto blinked and leaned backwards slightly, looking sheepish. "Oh, um," he said quietly. "Nothing. It's just-" He paused, appearing to be searching for words. "I've never seen you put aside mathematics for something we have to read. Usually I have to press you to do the reading."

"Oh," Haru replied, unsure of what else to say in response. So he elected to say nothing at all and turned back to the book, dimly hoping that Makoto hadn't noticed his hands. He felt Makoto's gaze upon him for another moment before Makoto rustled his papers and returned to the problem he was on.

They remained like that for a little while, working in silence in the warmly lit room. Eventually, Makoto caught up on math and turned to the short story, and once Haru's odd hand tremors thankfully subsided he went back and finished the graph and the last of the problems, discarding the few paragraphs he'd read of the story. He was working on the last problem and Makoto's nose was buried in the pages of the book when the door to Makoto's room slammed open, making the both of them jolt out of their heads.

"Onii-chan! Haru-nii-chan!" Ren and Ran burst in, disrupting the quiet atmosphere of the room and infusing it with their vibrant and perky energy. Ren ran forward and tackled Haru, and Ran took on Makoto, both giggling excitedly. Makoto sighed bemusedly and looked to Haru as if in apology, but Haru merely shrugged his shoulders to show how he didn't mind.

"I told you guys that we'd come play with you after we finished our homework," Makoto said, turning his head towards Ran, who was nuzzling into his shoulder.

"Eh, but it's so _boring_ with just Ren!" she whined, sticking her tongue out at her twin. "I'd rather play with you and Haru-nii-chan."

Ren frowned and mirrored his sister's tongue. "Ran's boring too!" he pouted, somewhat lacking in his comebacks. Ran giggled, only fueled more by her brother's annoyance.

"You guys, be nice," Makoto scolded, his voice shifting to its sterner tone. "Otherwise Haru and I won't play with you at all."

Ran sighed wearily. "Nnn, sorry," she mumbled reluctantly. Ren grunted noncommittally in response.

Makoto looked pleased with their contrition, and raised up a hand to ruffle Ran's hair, a darker shade of brown than his own. "Haru and I need to do our homework," he reminded.

Releasing the death grip, Ran sat down beside Makoto, kicking her feet in frustration. "You can take a break from homework," she suggested, raising her eyebrows and looking up at Makoto with an angelically hopeful expression. She leaned forward and grabbed his hands, prying his fingers away from the cover of the book and pulling the book out of his hands entirely.

"Ran!" Makoto protested.

Ran furrowed her brows and looked down at her tiny hands clutching Makoto's. "Eh, onii-chan, your hands are so rough!" she complained, wrinkling her nose at his callouses. "Why can't they be all soft like Haru-nii-chan's?" To prove her point, she scooted over to Haru and picked up his hand, lightly stroking along his palm. Haru let his hand lie limp, looking back at Makoto with an arched eyebrow.

"I want to feel Haru-nii-chan's hands too!" Ren exclaimed, not one to let his his sister be the center of attention. He slid off of Haru's shoulders and picked up his other hand, petting it like a cat. "Wow, Haru-nii-chan does have really soft hands!"

Haru let the twins pet him, his lips in a small smile, watching the two of them babble in fascination before lifting his eyes to Makoto's. Makoto's expression was odd, a combination of amusement and something else, something that Haru couldn't read. It only flashed for a second before Makoto blinked and it dissolved into the amusement. He lifted his chin higher.

"Guys, let Haru breathe," he chided, chuckling lightly. The twins obeyed, dropping Haru's hands in disappointment. Makoto scooted forward and wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the two of them, still chuckling. "Let us finish our homework so we can play with you guys sooner, okay?" He flicked his gaze back and forth between them, smiling warmly.

Ren and Ran grumbled an 'okay' in response, and they slowly picked themselves and traipsed outside the room, shutting the door on their lighthearted bickering. The room returned to its previous stillness.

Makoto exhaled in relief, picking up the book again. He looked to Haru. "Sorry about that," he offered, looking mildly reproachful.

"It's fine," Haru automatically answered. Ren and Ran distracting them from homework happened every week, and Makoto always apologized and Haru never minded. The tradition of it comforted him. Makoto smiled and turned back to the book, picking up immediately where he left off.

Haru looked down at the problem he was supposed to be working on, but for some reason his mind replayed Ran's words. Something was bothering him, and his mind swirled, completely blocking out the math he was supposed to be doing. He stared blankly at the paper in the silence, words suddenly forming. "I don't mind," he blurted.

"Eh?" Makoto looked up from the book, his eyes questioning. "Don't mind what?"

"Your hands." Haru blinked softly. "I-I don't mind them."

Makoto's bright eyes widened in surprise and he exhaled sharply. After a moment of awkward silence, he blinked rapidly, his mouth parted. "O-Oh, um," he stammered, lifting his eyebrows. "T-Thanks, Haru?" His voice lifted as if in a question rather than a statement.

Haru nodded silently, swallowing with difficulty, and turned his head back to his math. His ears rang with embarrassment.

 _What the hell was that?_

Haru wanted to punch himself. Everything was already awkward and uncomfortable between him and Makoto, and something bizarre like "I don't mind your hands" only added more discomfort. He had no idea how he had expected Makoto to react. He didn't blame him for looking so uncomfortable, because how else could someone respond to that other than a flustered "thank you"? The words had just spewed out uncontrollably before he could even process them. Haru resisted groaning in frustration as a weird feeling spread over him. Why had it felt like he was confessing something?

When he was calm enough to attempt to finish his math, he picked up his pencil, only to find that his hands were shaking again.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Remember when I said I had a thing for hands? -nervous laughter-**

 **This is pretty short and not much happens I'm afraid, but considering the extreme cringe that was the last chapter and what I have planned next (I actually have a plan?) there needed to be a tame, buffer-like chapter. So here it is. Ohohohoho but the things soon to come... -maniacal cackling-**

 **About the hand tremor thing: This is a real thing that I personally experience. Like Haru, I am relatively in control and inexpressive of my emotions (other than perpetual grumpiness and irritation, heh), so when I am nervous about something I can handle things well enough that people won't know, and sometimes I don't even actually feel anxious mentally. However, whatever anxiety that I'm either aware of or unaware of makes itself known by embarrassingly noticeable trembling hands. It is awful and I can't control it at all. So I am forcing my own woes upon Haru, since I thought it would make sense for the feelings he's so oblivious about to be manifested in other ways.  
**

 **And yes, I threw calculus in there for no good reason other than I am a pretentious douchebag. FORGIVE ME FOR MY SINS.  
**


	6. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**WARNING: This chapter contains very mild violence and blood.**

 **I don't own _Free!_.**

* * *

"Road blocked?"

Standing in the way of Makoto and Haru's typical route home was a blinding, neon yellow barrier with ROAD BLOCKED FOR CONSTRUCTION written in heavy black characters. This was an unusual circumstance; they traveled the same path to and from school every day without variation for the entirety of high school. There had never even been any construction in that area, but today, a plastic barrier made their muscle memory halt.

Haru and Makoto stood staring at it for a moment, their feet unsure of where to proceed next, before Makoto looked over to Haru, biting his lip. "Well," he said hesitantly. "I guess we have to take that street there-" He pointed his index finger to the right. "-and loop around the back?"

Haru nodded in agreeance, and the pair turned from the barrier and headed down the adjacent street. The golden light of the setting sun was blocked from hitting their bodies by a building along the street, casting them in quickly deepening shadows. It was a warm Wednesday evening, and they were walking home from swim practice. They stepped in silence, which Haru rarely minded, but today it gave him ample opportunity to brood over the embarrassing moment from earlier in the day.

It was during lunch, and the whole swim club gathered on the roof to eat as usual. Nagisa and Rei were already there by the time Haru and Makoto arrived, busy bickering about some project they were supposed to work on together. Haru plopped down beside Makoto, pulling out his bento from his bag. At first, he halfheartedly tried to listen to Nagisa and Rei's argument, but when he heard the word "sequins", he decided to tune out. He cracked open the lid to his bento and set it on his lap, his knee lightly brushing against Makoto's.

It was when he picked up his chopsticks to begin eating that it happened again. _The hand tremors_. Only three days had passed since it had happened the first time, in Makoto's room while doing homework, and he hadn't thought it would happen again, but apparently whatever automotive response in his body was causing it decided otherwise. His hand thumped violently with his pulse, the chopsticks he clutched jumping up and down as if emitting a frequency. Haru sighed. _Annoying._

Trying to pretend everything was fine and hoping no one had noticed, Haru grasped a piece of mackerel between the tips of his chopsticks, but then accidentally stabbed a hole through the fish with a sudden jerky tremble. Frustrated, he attempted forcing his hand to cooperate and tried again to get a piece of food, but his hand weakly shuddered, the chopstick accidentally tapping loudly against the plastic of his bento. Praying it had gone unnoticed, Haru yanked his hand away from the bento, letting it hover and shake about a foot above.

Haru should have known he wouldn't have the fortune to be granted invisibility.

"Eh? Haru-chan?" Makoto glanced over to him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Your hands are shaking."

Haru might have replied "No they're not" had the shaking not been so mortifyingly obvious. He ignored Makoto and glowered into his rice, grumpily shoving his chopsticks into it.

"Whoa, Haru-chan's hands are vibrating!" _Oh no._ Nagisa had a sixth sense for when something embarrassing was happening to Haru. A moment earlier, he'd been too enveloped in his vehement discussion of sequins to notice anything, but now, his magenta eyes were fixed on something as equally shiny and appealing: the loss of Haru's dignity.

"They're not," Haru muttered, scowling at the attention he was receiving from both Makoto and Nagisa. He agitatedly dumped his chopsticks into the bento.

Nagisa's comment made Rei's head turn to him as well. _Terrific._ "Haruka-senpai, are you alright?" he asked, looking concerned. "Are you ill? Perhaps it's a vitamin deficiency, considering how you only seem to consume mackerel. Of course, there's also low blood sugar..." He began rattling out the numerous causes of shaky hands at an alarming speed, along with various treatment options.

Haru drowned out his words, glaring at his rice and fish, hearing Nagisa's faint giggling and feeling Makoto's curious gaze upon him. He resisted groaning defeatedly and leaning forward to bury his face in his rice. After realizing Haru wasn't listening and rather pointedly ignoring him, Rei cut off his tirade with a huff and resumed his argument with Nagisa, whose attention immediately switched back to sequins. Makoto stared worriedly at Haru for a few moments before returning to eating.

Even after the stupid tremors dissolved, Haru didn't really eat much during lunch. He had been in a bad mood ever since.

 _Stupid,_ he thought to himself.

The sky continued to darken as Haru and Makoto wove through backstreets and alleyways, veering away from the wide and open roads that were closed for construction. The atmosphere surrounding them settled into a faintly gray tone as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Although he'd been through this area enough to know where to go, Haru didn't particularly like how close the buildings were and how surprisingly desolate everything was. Hardly anyone lived here, and the buildings were owned and used by businesses during the day, meaning they were empty by the time swim practice was over.

Makoto was quiet, no doubt very aware of Haru's accumulating irritation, letting him breathe and relax in the silence. He looked thoughtful, though, and a couple of times glanced over to Haru almost questioningly, but quickly looked away without saying a word. It frustrated Haru how he couldn't tell what Makoto was thinking, because for all of their intuition with each other, sometimes Makoto was completely unreadable. Haru wasn't about to ask about it though, because Makoto was an individual person with his own thoughts and need for privacy, no matter how much his curiosity burned.

As they were about to turn into a dim alleyway, Haru happened to notice how his left shoe was untied. He stopped walking and kneeled down to fix it, letting Makoto pass by him and turn into the alley without him, his fingers working nimbly on the cloth of his laces, wanting to quickly catch up. Just as he finished and stood up, from around the corner of the alley he suddenly heard the sound of feet scuffling and a high pitched screech from Makoto. His blood froze instantly. The noise Makoto made wasn't the typical sound he made at a sudden shock or a horror movie. It was saturated with legitimate terror and urgency, alerting Haru to actual danger. Adrenaline jolted his body into action, and he hurriedly stumbled forward and whipped around the corner of the alley.

Several things hit Haru as he took in the scene before him. The dark alleyway, abandoned and empty except for a lone overflowing trash can and Makoto's backpack, haphazardly tossed to the side. A tall man, dressed in all black, with a black mask obscuring everything but his intense, intimidating, dark brown eyes. The man's hands, large with veins popping out, grasping Makoto's shirt and pressing him forcefully against the wall. Makoto's eyes, looking up at the man looming above him, as big as full moons with fear, their green no longer bright and grassy but instead flat and sickly. His lean chest rising and falling rapidly beneath the man's hold on his shirt, frantic and labored.

 _A mugger?_

In reality it only took Haru a second to process, but it felt like a century that he stood there paralyzed and disoriented, not believing his own eyes. He knew of muggers and robbers- as relatively quiet as Iwatobi was, it wasn't immune to the hidden, backstreet crime that plagued any town or city. He'd just never imagined he would see it with his own eyes, or that anyone would target _Makoto_. Someone who didn't know him wouldn't know how soft and light he was, and instead would see an intimidating six-foot tall, muscular figure, one that suggested power and aggression. But from the quickly flashing image before him, Haru could tell that the man pressing Makoto into the stone wall was taller than Makoto by at least two or three inches, so perhaps he was someone so confident in himself and his height that he didn't have to care who his victim was.

"I don't have any money!"

Makoto's voice snapped Haru out of his momentary daze, pleading and panicked. Haru's eyes narrowed in on the man's hands on Makoto, keeping him trapped and powerless, and a sudden hatred began boiling in his chest. Pulse thundering in his ears, Haru's breath quickened, blood rushing through his veins with the force of a tsunami. Oddly enough, his hands weren't shaking. They were completely still, calm and purposeful. He let out a low hiss through clenched teeth and balled his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white. Letting his bag slide from his shoulder, he finally moved from his spot as sentry, approaching the mugger with death glinting in his eye. He grabbed the mugger's arm.

After that, Haru wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Images flashed, fleeting and blurry, and he was unable to process them meaningfully. His body moved completely on its own accord, controlled by some subconscious part of his brain; he planned and thought about nothing but getting the mugger the hell away from Makoto. He could sense a flurry of limbs and fists, forcefully striking and pushing, products of the white-hot anger coursing through him and controlling his movements. In the buzz of activity in his mind, he barely felt his knuckles cracking and snapping with each punch.

Suddenly, he came to his senses, his sight clearing and revealing that he was standing over the mugger, who lay on the ground of the alley unconscious, the mask obscuring his face gone. The man's nose was messily broken, crimson red blood spurted everywhere, spilling over his cheeks and slightly agape mouth, little drops and puddles on the pavement beside him. Panting heavily, Haru stared at him, befuddled, before glancing down at his own hands. His knuckles were tinted red with blood and raw from impact, although his heightened adrenaline blocked any sensations of pain. He looked up from his hands, then back down, and up again, fixating on the mugger's bloodied, mutilated nose and face. _Oh. I did that_.

Haru stared at his handiwork for a moment, trying to recall the fleeting images that would give him a clue to how he had managed to dismantle the man, when a squeaky, coughing noise came from behind him. He blinked and turned away to glance over his shoulder, finding Makoto pressed against the wall as if using it for support. Makoto's wide eyes looked at him with a combination of awe, horror, and bewilderment, his face pale and his mouth wide open.

"H-Ha-" he choked, his voice high. He jammed his mouth shut and swallowed hard, imperceptively shaking his head. Haru rotated himself around to squarely face him. "H-Haru-chan-" His brow furrowed. "How did- Where did you-" He stopped himself, unable to form a complete sentence.

Haru didn't reply, although he knew what kind of question Makoto was going ask. " _Where did you learn to beat up 6'3" muggers, Haru?"_ It was an understandable question, and one Haru didn't have an answer to.

Haru took in several deep breaths, giving his racing heartbeat the chance to slowly return to a normal pace, and wiped the back of his hand against his forehead to get rid of the thin film of sweat making his inky bangs cling to his skin. Once he took a moment to somewhat return to normal, he looked back up to Makoto, who still gazed at him with apprehension and surprise.

"Makoto," he said, surprising himself by how controlled his voice was, considering the grand display of aggression he had just shown. He took a couple of steps toward his best friend, making sure not to step on the mugger or the splatters of blood. "Are you okay?"

Makoto swallowed again and gave a sharp nod in response. "Y-Yeah," he stammered. He leaned against the wall as if he couldn't trust his own legs to keep him upright. He exhaled shakily, his wide green eyes transfixed on Haru's face. "A-Ah, are _you_ okay?" His chest heaved agitatedly and his words began to tumble out. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

Haru frowned. "I'm fine," he replied, with a hint of confusion. "You don't have to apologize."

Makoto nodded, unhearing, eyes unfocused and unsettled. "I know, I know, but-"

"I'm _fine_ ," Haru repeated firmly, cutting off Makoto's sputtering. "Don't apologize."

Makoto's eyes widened slightly at the force of Haru's command, before softening and flickering shamefully to the ground. "Sorry," he murmured to his feet. An alarmed expression flashed when he realized what he had said. "Ah, I mean-!"

"It's fine," Haru told him. He tilted his head, scrutinizing Makoto's pallor and jumpy demeanor, pausing for a moment. "You were scared." It wasn't a question.

Makoto slowly lifted his eyes to meet Haru's, gazing at him for a breath. Wordlessly, he gave a tiny, embarrassed nod and looked back down to the ground, awkwardly shuffling his feet. He began wringing his hands, an old habit from when he was younger. A slightly uncomfortable silence hung over them, Haru watching Makoto worriedly and Makoto anxiously wringing his hands and staring at his feet. Haru waited, and soon enough, Makoto let his hands drop to his sides and forced himself to look Haru in the eye.

"Thank you," he said quietly, barely audible. His eyebrows cinched and he blinked softly. "Um," he coughed. "You have blood on your face, Haru-chan." He lifted a hand to shakily gesture to the side of Haru's cheek.

"Oh." Haru brought his hand to his face, and sure enough, a quickly drying clump of rusty red lay underneath his fingers. He let his hand fall, rubbing the weird feeling in his fingertips away. "It's not mine."

An unnecessary statement, considering how Haru had so easily taken down the mugger without so much as a punch aimed at him. Nevertheless the stupidity of it, Makoto nodded and bit his lip, his eyes moving to focus over Haru's shoulder at the mugger. "Um…" He scratched the back of his head, his brown hair ruffling messily. "So… What do we do about him?"

"Oh." Haru twisted his neck to look back at the man, who still lay unconscious in the middle of the quickly darkening alleyway. He turned back to Makoto and shrugged noncommittally. "Leave him, I guess."

"Eh?!" Makoto squeaked. "Shouldn't we call the police or something?"

"Too much work."

"Haru!"

Haru shrugged again. "No one goes through here anyways," he said. "And it's not like he's going to call the police on us." He turned around and began walking in the direction they were originally heading, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. About to step over the mugger's limp arm, he paused and looked back to Makoto as if to say _Come on_.

"E-Eh, wait for me, Haru!" Makoto called out, peeling himself from the wall and stumbling forward. He came to Haru, stopping briefly to pick up his discarded backpack, Haru already turning to begin walking in the direction of home again. As Makoto tentatively tip-toed over the mugger, he stared at his bloodied face, and continued to stare over his shoulder as they moved away from the man. He only broke his gaze when they turned away from the alley and the mugger disappeared from view.

They continued their way home in frazzled, jumpy silence, the walk no longer calm and peaceful. Haru's mind buzzed, and he could sense Makoto's whirling beside him. He glanced to his side to check on his taller friend, still concerned. Makoto's profile was gently lit by the faintly colored sky behind him, his eyes cast downwards. He appeared calm enough, but he was still pale and Haru noticed trembling hands at his sides.

Haru hadn't seen Makoto this shaken up in a long time, perhaps since when Makoto was smaller than him and hid himself from whatever scared him. He knew Makoto was absolutely terrified of things like the dark, so he wasn't surprised Makoto was so upset by being jumped on in a dark alleyway. Anything that turned Makoto back into the small, unconfident, nervous boy that hid behind him infuriated Haru. A fierce protectiveness bubbled up in his chest. He realized that he would beat up as many people needed to keep Makoto free of fear. _Relax_ , he told himself, trying to shake the overwhelming feeling off.

Haru sighed. Makoto had always been more easily affected by outside emotions than him, which meant that he had often been the one to soothe and comfort Makoto. Well… perhaps comfort wasn't the right word. Makoto comforted him, but Haru wasn't quite sure what he did to Makoto. He never could think of encouraging words or advice, so he relied on more primitive, simple acts, things as seemingly inconsequential as merely keeping Makoto company or holding his hand when he was scared. For whatever reason, those worked. Sighing, he glanced back at Makoto, feeling like he should say something, but like always, he couldn't come up with the right words. So without thinking about it too much, he decided to go with what he knew and reached for Makoto's quaking hand.

Makoto turned his head around to face him, his pale cheeks finally regaining color. "Haru?"

Haru didn't reply and looked forward, giving Makoto's larger hand a small, reassuring squeeze. He heard Makoto's soft exhale beside him and sensed his head turning back to the front. His fingers continued to tremble, but as they plodded ahead and Haru continued holding his hand, the tremors gradually faded into nonexistence. When he regained stillness, Makoto gently squeezed Haru's hand back as a small, silent _Thank you_.

Eventually, after weaving through the maze of backstreets, they made it to the Tachibanas', still hand in hand. Makoto looked more at ease than he had before, his face a normal color and his body language no longer cowering and fearful. Haru squeezed his hand once more before releasing and letting his hand fall to his side. Makoto took a couple of steps toward his front door, looking almost reluctant, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair.

"Um," he murmured, breaking the quiet. His arm dropped. "See you tomorrow, Haru."

Haru dipped his head. "Yeah," he managed, unable to come up with anything else.

Makoto gave him a flash of a small smile and turned back to his house and entered, bathing Haru in warm, golden light for a moment as the door opened and closed.

Haru trekked up the steps leading to his house and went straight to his room, flopping down on the bed with an audible exhale. His left hand still tingled with warmth from holding Makoto's.

* * *

The man groaned, leaning back as far the rickety wood chair would allow him, pressing an ice pack to his violently purple eye. He tilted his head back, letting the ice pack rest comfortably without him having to hold it in place, and pinched the bridge of his nose, sniffing loudly. His black mask lay torn and discarded on the table in front of him.

"I hate you," he muttered bitterly, directing it to the person sitting opposite him on the other side of the table.

His statement was met with an unworried giggle and a ruffle of honey blond curls. "No you don't, Yasu-chan."

"Don't call me Yasu-chan!" the man growled threateningly, although his delivery was somewhat dampened by the nasally tone in his voice from his stuffed nose. "I've told you a million times to call me Yasuhiro and _only_ Yasuhiro." He grumpily shifted in his seat, careful not to disrupt the ice pack on his eye. "And I do hate you."

The deceptively sweet looking boy merely smiled knowingly. "Eh, but Yasu-chan," he countered. "You can't hate the one who pays you!"

"I don't need your snarky comments right now, you little weasel," Yasuhiro complained. "I mean, jeez, your friend is a goddamn menace. You could have at least _warned_ me."

"Heh, sorry about that, Yasu-chan," the boy chuckled, looking only somewhat reproachful. "But I had no idea Haru-chan could punch so hard." He shuddered, picturing the look on Haru's face as he had pummeled Yasuhiro, a man seven inches taller than him, into a pulp. Although Haru gave him plenty of threatening looks on a daily basis, the boy had never received that particular expression and he hoped he never would. Shaking off the image, the boy leaned over the table and lightly patted Yasuhiro's resting hand. "Don't worry, I'll pay you extra."

"Gee, thanks," Yasuhiro grumbled. "I only broke my nose because of your 'little job'."

The boy reflected on what he had seen from his distanced vantage point, an old, empty building overlooking the backstreets, and how Haru had taken Makoto's hand as they walked home. He resisted a giggle. _Definitely worth Yasu-chan's broken nose_ , he thought triumphantly. A buzz from his phone jolted him out of his victorious daze, and he smiled to see a text from the contact _Rei-chan_. "Ah, is that the time?!" he exclaimed, noticing the clock in the upper righthand corner of the screen. "Have to go, sorry!" He quickly shoved the phone into his pocket and jumped up, making his way to the door.

"Don't forget about my extra money," Yasuhiro called after him.

The boy stopped in the doorway, smiling broadly at the man. "Of course not, Yasu-chan!" he assured. "I would never dream of it!"

Yasuhiro took the ice pack off of his eye and looked at the boy squarely (or what he could manage through a half shut, swollen eyelid). "Alright…" He raised an eyebrow. "See you, Stealth."

The boy jauntily winked a vibrant magenta eye.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Really vague Thugisa being a thug? I think yes.**

 **Okay so I first got the idea for this chapter when I was half asleep at 1 a.m. way back in July or August and it's been circling around in my mind ever since, so I am so happy I finally got to turn it into reality. I like how Makoto is always considered "the mom", but I think Haru's kind of a "mom" too. Makoto is more of a mother hen, and Haru is a mother bear. Mother bears will fuck you up if they think you're a threat to their cubs.**

 **Anyways, I SWEAR their relationship will begin moving forward soon. Haru's just really dumb, mmkay.**

 **Oh, make sure to check out my bro sexythroatbitchohyescats's Makoharu college AU, "A Toast to Disasters". You will scream and cringe just as much as I did. And if you're interested, you can check out my tumblr broniichan, where you can see the extremity of my trashiness. I post a lot of anime, memes, and whatever else strikes my fancy, so yeah. Check it out, or not.**

 **Peace, y'all.**


	7. Fishy Circumstances

**Long time, no Makoharu.**

 **I don't own _Free!_**

* * *

Haru set his bag down in the locker room, immediately stripping his clothing down to just his swimsuit. It was Friday afternoon, and thankfully, time for swim practice. Haru gripped his clothes and bag and placed them into a locker, dropping them quickly as a pang shot up through his right hand. Clutching his wrist, he gritted his teeth, trying to wiggle the ache from his fingers. His sharp exhale echoed in the empty locker room.

Thursday's morning resurfaced in his mind, replaying when he and Makoto saw Nagisa in the hallway before classes. After a brief "good morning" from all, Nagisa's eyes widened.

"Eh, Haru-chan!" He gestured to Haru's hands. "What happened?!"

Haru stiffened, panicking. He glanced down at his hands, his knuckles chafed and blue with bruises. Makoto froze beside him. The fight with the mugger had been only the night before, and although it hadn't pained Haru in the moment, the damage showed itself the morning after with soreness and colors as violent as his actions. The second Makoto had seen them earlier that morning, he had stilled, paling with horror and guilt. Haru wanted to wipe the expression away, but a mere "It's fine" did little to clear Makoto's worry and shame. Though they didn't speak of it more, the two of them had a silent agreement to keep the moment with the mugger between just them. In some way, it felt too personal to share with Makoto's family or even Rei and Nagisa, although Haru couldn't put his finger on why.

"Uh." Haru swallowed thickly, awkwardly looking down and wringing his hands. "I tripped and fell last night."

It was a weak and flimsy explanation, and he knew it and Nagisa knew it, but to his immense surprise, the blond only blinked and nodded, accepting it. He jumped to another subject entirely, ranting about something relating Rei without another mention of Haru's hands. Haru was confused- since when did Nagisa not prod and push Haru to the extent of his patience? To let something slide by was fundamentally un-Nagisa. But he wasn't given much time to mull it over, as Nagisa ended his tirade and waved an exuberant goodbye as he rushed off to class, leaving Haru and Makoto alone in the hallway.

Back in the locker room, Haru observed his hand, trying to rub out the pain with the other. The bruises had changed from a blue to a deep eggplant, splotchier and uglier in just a day. His tendons flexed and tensed in the shadowy lighting, reacting to the sharp cramps traveling up from his wrist. After a minute, the pain subsided, and Haru shook out his hand, regaining a bit more mobility. He slammed the locker shut and slung his towel over his shoulder, moving to exit the room and head for the pool.

With a hand raised against the sun's blinding rays, Haru made his way to the bench alongside the pool. Makoto sat waiting for him, although he kept his head down as Haru dumped his towel onto the bench. Without turning his head, his eyes lightly grazed over Haru, and he said nothing.

"Oh, Haru-senpai!"

Haru turned around to see Kou running towards him, her long hair bobbing behind her and a clipboard in her arms. She stopped before them, pressing the clipboard to her chest.

"Oh, and Makoto-senpai," she amended, maroon eyes flickering down to Makoto before rising back to Haru. "I have something to ask."

"Oh." Haru nodded for her to proceed.

"Well," she began, adjusting the shoulder of her hoodie, "You guys remember Mikoshiba Seijuuro from Samezuka, right?"

"Mm-hm," Makoto confirmed.

Haru nodded.

"Well, he's on break from school right now, and he and I are going on one of those boat tours tomorrow night. Hana and Satomi were going to come with us, but they suddenly backed out today and left us with two extra tickets, and they're non-refundable. So, I was wondering if you guys wanted to come instead, since I never see you outside of school or practice."

Haru's mouth opened, a firm, automatic "no" brimming on his lips, when he remembered his deal with Rin. Unfortunately, this was the perfect opportunity to do some spy work on Kou, because so far Rin had been highly dissatisfied with his updates. A chance to be around Kou _and_ Mikoshiba- Rin would murder him if he let it slip by. _Dammit._

"Okay," he heard himself saying.

Makoto's eyebrows raised in surprise, before lowering with realization.

"Really?" Kou leaned forward and peered at him with sparkling eyes.

He sighed in resignation. "Yeah."

"Yay! I'm so glad!" She smiled, exuberantly jumping on the balls of her feet. "I can give you the tickets after practice and let you know when and where to meet us."

"Great," Haru muttered unenthusiastically. His passiveness did nothing to deter Kou's excitement and she bounded away, returning to working through their training regimens with renewed enthusiasm.

In the newfound silence, Haru and Makoto stilled, ears filled with birds chirping in Kou's wake.

Haru tipped his chin down towards Makoto. "You're going, right?"

Makoto blinked and met his eyes, looking up through soft bangs. "Of course, Haru-chan," he replied, almost as if surprised Haru asked.

Haru turned his face to the rippling pool. "Drop the -chan," he muttered on instinct, stepping forward to dive into the pool. Makoto's light chuckle was drowned out by the wash of water crashing in Haru's ears as dove beneath the surface.

Practice went well, and Haru felt peaceful by the time the sun began to set. Though, his relief was short lived; Kou hardly waited a moment for him to dry off before handing him two ornately embroidered crisp linen tickets with characters written in glossy silver ink. Haru took them with careful hands as if they were expensive, delicate pieces of art, handing one to Makoto and keeping the other. As Kou proceeded to tell them to meet her and Mikoshiba by the docks at around seven, Haru's stomach rumbled with dread, cursing himself for getting dragged into Rin's ridiculous plan.

After changing back into their uniforms, Haru and Makoto walked home together like usual. It was thankfully quiet, with no muggers lurking behind corners, and the two of them exchanged light, brief conversation. Eventually, they went their separate ways once they made it to their houses, parting with a "see you tomorrow". Haru clambered up the steps, his house dark and ashy in comparison to the gleaming light bursting from the Tachibanas' windows. He opened the unlocked front door and stepped inside, kicking off his shoes and flicking on a light, and made his way back to his room. With a sigh, he flopped down on his bed, the mattress creaking slightly under his weight.

Though he tried his best to keep it back, the reality of what tomorrow evening held in store came crashing down on him, and he groaned. Pulling himself up to sitting, he reluctantly reached a hand into his pocket. It was his responsibility to tell Rin what was going on, unfortunately, and that meant he had to actively search out Rin. He pulled out his phone and opened up a new text, quickly typing out the details of the next day's events as concisely as possible, before sending to the contact _Matsuoka Rin._

Barely a minute passed before his phone buzzed with a response, and kept buzzing with every individual text.

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **FUCKING**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **SHIT**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **okay**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **just show up like she told you**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **i have a plan**

 _Free mackerel,_ Haru reminded himself, shutting his eyes and taking in a deep breath. _It's for free mackerel._

* * *

The next day came faster than Haru could've been prepared for, and soon his house echoed with Makoto's voice calling out that they were going to be late if he didn't hurry. He found Makoto practically dragging him to the docks, chastising him with, "You were the one to agree to this in the first place." Haru had no defense lined up for himself, and let Makoto ramble and pull him along by his wrist. The scenery of early evening Iwatobi passed by his eyes and he tuned Makoto out, focusing on the sea inching closer and closer as they walked.

They arrived at the docks at eight after seven, which Haru thought was pretty good considering how he remained rooted in his house until the very last minute. Kou and Mikoshiba were waiting for them by one of the piers. Haru suddenly felt horribly underdressed in his jeans and button down; Kou wore a silky red dress with chiffon capped sleeves, and Mikoshiba wore a smart black blazer over a navy sweater. _How fancy is this boat tour, anyways?_ he wondered, mind traveling to the glittery, suave ticket tucked into his pocket.

After hellos and how are yous, Kou and Mikoshiba led them up the pier to one of the docked boats. This one was a dazzling beacon of light and importance. Haru felt even more out of place as they cashed in their tickets to a well-groomed man wearing a tux and climbed aboard. The main room of the boat was surprisingly spacious and imperial, with arching cream stucco walls and a sparkling chandelier sending fluttery diamonds of light across the robust cedar floor. Tables with magnificently colorful spreads of hors d'oeuvres and drinks lay perpendicular to the opening leading out to the back deck, people filing in and milling about. Almost all of them looked at least twenty years older than Haru and the others, and all wore some form of evening wear. At least, even with the noticeable age gap, Kou and Mikoshiba were dressed accordingly. Haru and Makoto stuck out like sore thumbs in their jeans.

"Hey, let's go to the deck!" Kou suggested after a minute of absorbing the view. She grabbed Mikoshiba by the hand and brought him to the deck, Haru and Makoto deciding to follow suit.

Haru was immediately more at ease with the view of the ocean spreading out before him, stepping to the railing of the deck to gaze at the shimmering water below him. The twinkling lights lining the deck reflected like orbs in the water, dancing before Haru's eyes. Hands gripping the railing, he felt himself slowly leaning farther and farther forward, enraptured like usual by the waves, almost wanting to fall off and be freed from the confines of the boat. But as the railing dug deeper into his ribs the closer he leaned to the water, he suddenly felt a firm hand grasp his wrist, tethering him to the boat. He turned his face to see Makoto, who wore a exasperated, but amused expression that said, _Don't you dare try to jump into the water_.

Sighing, Haru peeled himself from the railing to return his weight to his own two legs. Makoto looked pleased at Haru's obedience, but refused to release Haru's wrist, knowing well that the minute he let his guard down, Haru would jump off the boat without another thought. Haru grumpily turned his face away, cursing his best friend's mind reading capabilities. Makoto only chuckled and shook his head.

To fit in with the boat's grand atmosphere, a string quartet sat right in the divide between the inside and the deck of the boat, playing what a violinist had announced was Brahms's Waltz Op. 39, No. 15. Haru let the sweeping, cheerful notes of the waltz flit through his mind, forgetting about his unimpressive attire and discomfort and merely stood there with Makoto beside him. The silence between them was pleasant and snug with the violins and the viola and the cello swirling around them, and they stood there for a few minutes, watching the land drift away into the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Haru caught a glimpse of Kou and Mikoshiba standing a few feet away along the railing, both aptly focused on him and Makoto. Mikoshiba narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Are they…" Haru dimly heard him begin, before Kou stomped on his foot. "Ouch!" Mikoshiba curled into himself and gave Kou a dirty look, who turned away from Haru and Makoto like nothing had happened.

 _Huh?_ Haru frowned. _Are we what?_ He glanced up to see if Makoto had noticed, but with his back facing Kou and Mikoshiba, Makoto remained oblivious. Instead, his eyes were focused out on the water, a peaceful look on his face. Disconcerted by Kou and Mikoshiba's strange moment, and acknowledging a sandpapery feeling of thirst at the back of his throat, Haru tugged Makoto away from the railing. Makoto yelped in surprise but nevertheless followed along as Haru brought him back to the inside of the boat. They passed by the string quartet, which was now playing another of Brahms's waltzes: the more somber, but equally elegant Op. 39, No. 3.

Once inside, Haru went straight for the clear pitcher of water sitting on one of the tables. Makoto stumbled behind him, releasing Haru's wrist so he could pour himself a glass. The back of Haru's neck burned with the gaze of the older guests on them, no doubt wondering what two teenage boys dressed casually in jeans were doing on such an impressive boat. Ignoring them, Haru lifted the cup to his mouth and gratefully drained the whole thing, his throat no longer like the Sahara Desert. They quickly lost the interest of their fellow guests, who went back to their chatting and sipping of wine.

Haru moved to discard his newly emptied glass with Makoto trailing behind him, but just as he placed it on a shining silver tray, he felt something thwack against the back of his neck and fall into the collar of his shirt. Brows furrowing in perplexion, he reached up to pick it out of his collar. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a chunk of cooked salmon.

 _What the…_

"Oi!" a voice hissed, barely audible over the quartet and the murmur of voices. Haru whipped around to the source of the noise, finding the "STAFF ONLY" door behind him open just enough for him to catch a snippet of familiar maroon hair and eyes.

"Rin?" Makoto blurted.

"Shh!" Rin brought a finger to his lips, eyes nervously darting from side to side, but no one paid them any attention. Once sure the coast was clear, Rin silently motioned for them to follow.

Apprehension curdling in his stomach, Haru hesitantly stepped forward to the door with Makoto beside him, Rin moving aside to let them in and shutting the door after. They settled in the dingy room, laid out with replacement hors d'oeuvres. _So that's where the salmon came from._ Taking his eyes away from the fish, Haru finally got a good look at Rin. At first, Rin looked surprisingly put together with a tux and his hair tucked back into a ponytail, but the image was shattered by a gnarly orange-red mustache sat above his upper lip.

"Is that supposed to be a disguise?" Haru asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Shut up!" Rin growled, flashing his razor-like teeth, although they didn't quite have the same effect with the caterpillar-like hair above them. "I had time and budget constraints, okay?!"

 _Clearly._

Makoto looked at Rin with a combination of concern and weariness. "Are you spying on Kou-chan?"

"No!" Rin answered automatically, his mustache falling off of half of his upper lip. "Well, kind of. Yes." He put his hands on his hips. "I just want to keep an eye on her. Whatever."

Makoto sighed, shaking his head. "How did you get back here?"

Rin fixed his mustache, looking away. "I may have snuck onto the boat by saying I was one of the servers…"

"Rin!"

"What? They have terrible security, anyways." Rin scoffed. "They didn't question me for a minute."

With the dead gerbil of a mustache glaring at him, Haru couldn't help but agree. "That is terrible security."

"Shut up," Rin snapped, brushing falling strands of hair back from his forehead. "It worked, didn't it? I'm here."

"I'm pretty sure Kou-chan will know it's you if she sees you," Makoto said, scratching the back of his head, his forehead creased with anxiety.

"That's why I'm back here, so I can watch from the shadows." Rin announced this grandly, like he was some great spy in an action movie, a cocky smirk on his mouth. "So you guys just act normally, because I'm not here, okay?"

 _Then why would you tell us you're here at all?_ Haru thought, disgruntled. It seemed less like Rin was simply watching out for his younger sister and more like he was putting on a dramatic production where he was the hero. If he really wanted to be invisible, he wouldn't have shown himself to Haru and Makoto and make them pretend they never saw him. Instead, he wanted them to know how sly his plot was. _Rin is a drama queen._

"Fine," Haru huffed. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not Nagisa," Rin grumbled, folding his arms. "You don't have to fucking lecture me."

"Eh," Makoto chuckled nervously. "You guys…"

Haru and Rin glowered at each other for a moment, before Rin heaved a sigh and unfolded his arms. "Anyways." He grabbed them both by the shoulder and forcefully turned them to the door. "Now get out before they notice you're missing," he ordered, shoving them. They clumsily stumbled back out the door, shoulders smacking together as they squeezed through the too narrow doorway. Miraculously, no one paid them any attention. When they looked back, the door was shut, blocking Rin from sight.

Exasperated, Haru twisted his neck to look at Makoto. A small laugh fell from Makoto's mouth at Haru's expression of irritation. With a bemused, but apologetic smile, he took Haru's hand in his own. He lightly tugged Haru away from Rin and aggravation to the deck, his grip strong and warm. Haru tagged along behind until they reached the railing over the ocean. Makoto's smile brightened as he let go of Haru's hand and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the rail, his eyes looking out onto the water. After a breath, Haru turned to the ripples as well, settling with his shoulder pressed against Makoto's.

They stood there in silence, letting the warm sea air soak into their skin, the waning moon and the constellations shedding icy blue light on them. The quartet continued to play, drawn out and pizzicato notes floating over indistinct voices and calls of seagulls and whooshing ocean waves. Slowly, Haru forgot about Rin, his mind lulled into a peacefully blank canvas. A cool gust of air washed over him, the slightly loose sleeves of his button down ruffling with it. His forearm resting on the rail felt warm and cozy, with Makoto's curled wrist beside it.

The minutes easily slid by as they leaned against the rail, the boat forming its path in the dark blue water, with hide nor hair of Rin. Everything was calm and pleasant, and Haru almost was enjoying the boat ride with the presence of Makoto to his side. He was relieved; it'd been so long that he'd felt this comfortable with Makoto in the past few weeks. He'd been so worried they'd been growing apart, but listening to his own breaths over the strings and ocean, he felt their connection as strong as ever. They didn't need to do anything- they could just be.

Eventually, the boat was near completing its travels, the lit shore approaching. From behind Haru came a light, feminine giggling. Makoto shifted, making eye contact with Haru before turning to face the noise. Haru turned as well and met the image of Kou and Mikoshiba dancing to whatever waltz the quartet was on, swaying with beat. A broad smile was on Kou's face, and it grew as Mikoshiba leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Haru stilled, awkwardly feeling like an audience member, and cast his eyes away respectfully. To his side, he sensed Makoto shifting with discomfort as well.

Out of nowhere, a primal howl burst out from the indoors of the boat, slicing into Haru's eardrums and making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Kou and Mikoshiba broke apart, whipping their heads to the direction of the sound. From within, the yell continued, and suddenly, a whole gleaming silver fish came flying across the deck, hitting Mikoshiba square in the face with a loud _smack_. It clattered to the wood paneled deck, leaving a bright red mark on Mikoshiba's startled face.

"OI!" A figure stepped out, silhouetted by the golden lights from inside. Even from fifteen feet away, Haru could see sharp teeth glistening in the faint nighttime light.

"Onii-chan?!" Kou squeaked, blushing and guiltily stepping away from Mikoshiba. "What are you doing here?!"

"M-Matsuoka?" Mikoshiba gulped, his eyes wide and fearful. He stiffened and stood like a stone gargoyle.

A low growl escaped Rin's grimace, his gross mustache askew and hanging from half of his lip. "WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING?!" he boomed, magenta eyes crackling and sizzling with electricity.

Unfortunately, the scene had drawn out audience members other than Haru and Makoto. Stunned guests stared at them, champagne glasses and hors d'oeuvres frozen near agape mouths. Rin didn't notice the horrified and disgusted looks he was receiving, which was probably for the best. Haru sighed tiredly as Makoto groaned quietly and buried his face in his hands, his elbow resting on Haru's shoulder.

Everything went down the drain after that- it quickly morphed to an incoherent shouting match between Rin and Kou with Mikoshiba lurking beside them, terrified and awed. Haru and Makoto stood a good distance away, out of the line of fire, pretending they didn't know them. Quickly, a manager and other assistants showed up to break up the scene, though they probably would have left them alone had they known that they would be dealing with the Matsuoka siblings. As their voices grew in volume and fury, Haru reminded himself never to anger both of them at once.

Luckily, the boat was now resting at the pier, and Haru saw his opportunity, grabbing Makoto by the hand to escape. Makoto was reluctant only for a moment, protesting they stay and help until he heard Rin yell "FIGHT ME!" at some unsuspecting server. With an exhausted sigh, he gave up and let Haru pull him away.

In the chaos, they slipped away unseen, practically running across the docks until they made it to the main road. They stopped, now hidden from view by a cluster of trees, panting. After a moment of quiet, Makoto grinned at Haru and began to laugh, his light voice carrying across the road. Haru allowed himself a smile at the trainwreck they'd just experienced, buoyed by the warmth in Makoto's laugh. Slowly, Makoto drizzled back into calm silence, a little bit of humor lingering in his upturned lips.

"Let's go home," he suggested, dropping Haru's hand and taking a step forward.

Haru dipped his head, a smidgen disappointed Makoto's callouses were no longer pressed against his palm. "Yeah."

On their way back through the dim spiraling streets, Makoto lightheartedly talked and joked about Rin while Haru listened. He continued as they passed buildings and houses, growing in vibrancy, and Haru was satisfied to just listen to him and walk leisurely. As Makoto attempted mimicking Rin's deeper, more threatening voice (and failed), a breeze rushed past, tousling his light brown hair. Makoto blinked with surprise at the force of the gust, his bangs sticking out in a way that made him look like a scruffy puppy. A clumsy, six-foot, overgrown puppy.

Makoto's eyes darted to the side, his whole face lighting up as something caught his attention. "Eh, look, Haru-chan!" he exclaimed, pointing to the corner of a dark grocery store.

Haru squinted in the direction of Makoto's finger, but he couldn't make anything out in the dusky lighting. Makoto barely waited a moment before excitedly scurrying over to the grocery, Haru grumbling and rolling his eyes as he followed a step behind. Finally, he caught a flash of reflective eyes in the shadows, and he huffed in amusement. _Of course._

"Look at you!" Makoto cooed, kneeling down and extending a hand out to an orange tabby cat with lime green eyes. The cat approached him cautiously, sniffing his fingers for a moment before deeming him trustworthy and letting him scratch behind its ears.

Haru came down to his knees beside Makoto, looking at Makoto's outstretched hand. Makoto quickly gained the cat's trust, and soon a rumbling purr came from its throat as he stroked and scratched. Sighing, Haru lifted his eyes from the cat to Makoto. Warm green eyes were affectionate towards his new friend, a soft, caring smile on pink lips. When the cat nuzzled its head against the underside of his forearm, Makoto giggled, his eyes squeezing shut in delight.

Watching Makoto, Haru almost laughed. Even with an entire lifetime of petting cats under his belt, Makoto's enthusiasm never faltered if there was a cat within a five mile radius. A fond smile spread across Haru's face, the innocent joy radiating from Makoto seeping over to him. He was content with watching Makoto with the cat for years. The longer he stared, the more heat built up in his blood, pumping through his veins and coursing through his whole body. His stomach swooped with a jolt, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his fingers trembling, yet again. They brought out a dim prickle of annoyance, but he was too entranced by Makoto and the cat to commit to the annoyance.

"Hm?" Makoto realized Haru's eyes were upon him, and turned to look at him. Tilting his head, he lifted his hand from the cat and rested it on his knee. "Haru?"

With Makoto's eyes focused directly on him, Haru pulse quickened. Normally, Makoto wouldn't have asked, but something in Haru's expression must have conveyed something different than usual, and emeralds widened in curiosity, awaiting a response. Blinking, Haru froze, trying to ignore the churning in the pit of his stomach. His mouth fell open, words swelling in the back of his throat, threatening to spill out, but he was too fast for them and clamped his mouth shut. He turned his gaze away, letting his midnight bangs shield his too expressive eyes.

"Nothing."

Makoto blinked, looking concerned and confused. "Okay," he said quietly, refusing to tear his eyes away from Haru until a mewl from the cat stole his attention.

While Makoto resumed playing with the cat, Haru's ears rang painfully and his mind swirled. Hands clenched into shaky fists, eyes dizzily burrowed holes down into the gray pavement. His unsaid words hovered at the back of his throat.

 _I love you._

Oh.

Oh no.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Damn, it's almost been two months since I updated this. Hopefully this makes up for my lapse in consistency. We have a revelation, hallelujah!**

 **I was really in a Brahms mood when I wrote this, heh. I highly recommend listening to both waltz Op. 39 No. 15 and waltz Op. 39 No. 3, because they really set the mood for the boat scene and they are both beautiful pieces of music. The CHILLS. Brahms's work overall is just really good, so definitely give him a listen.**

 **Can you tell how much I love the "Rin the overprotective brother/drama queen" tropes? Poor soul, he suffers so much. I'm also trash for Makoto with cats. He's actually me when I see a cat. The orange tabby may be based off of the cat I spent ten minutes petting outside my dorm last week...**

 **Well, all I can say is I am now _very_ excited for future chapters ohohohoho. Farewell for now, and happy holidays!**


	8. You Sexy Thing

**Thank you all so much for the favs, follows, and comments on this travesty. I apologize for such long gaps in between chapters.**

* * *

The horror.

Haru loved Makoto.

 _Romantically._

Sure, he'd always loved Makoto; as his teammate, as his best friend, as the constant presence by his side, but never did any sort of _romantic_ attachment cross his mind. Romance wasn't a common word in Haru's vocabulary. His knowledge of romance was limited to terrible movies and Amakata-sensei's cringe-worthy quotes, which were almost always dripping with sap and dramatization. What Rin and Rei lapped up, he scoffed at, considering it ridiculous and silly. Unlike everyone else, he never understood the allure of romance and relationships, and was grateful he'd never had the misfortune to experience anything like it, because it seemed like a pain.

He could now confirm it was a pain.

To him, there was only one good thing that came from his realization: now he understood the cause for the recent awkwardness between the two of them. Though comforted they weren't drifting apart, he was significantly less comforted to desire more than friendship. Here he was, years worth of emotions pouring onto him with a single epiphany, flailing and drowning in their current. Everything about Makoto was ten times more noticeable and important, from the inflections of his voice to his expressions when dealing with Nagisa to his strong and powerful backstroke. Haru had never realized how much his eyes and thoughts traveled to his best friend, and now they were almost always aware, hypersensitive to the little movements and breaths.

Haru was a mess.

Makoto acted normally, with his frustrating kindness and optimism, while Haru berated himself for his hysteria. His lifelong forged expression of apathy was his saving grace, and Makoto hadn't noticed anything different. Yet. But what was Haru supposed to do? Shove his feelings into the deepest crevice of his mind and try to forget them? Or actually swell up the courage to talk to Makoto? His mouth went dry just picturing it, and he wasn't sure he was capable of it, with his usual bluntness malfunctioning. Makoto was always the one he was comfortable with, the one who set him at ease. That ease was why Haru had always liked him, and then loved him, and paradoxically, it now set him on edge.

After his two weeks of existential crises, Haru bared down and resolved to do something before he eroded or embarrassed himself. But… do what, exactly? He needed guidance, but Makoto was always his first choice for help, and there was absolutely no way he could regurgitate his chaotic thoughts to him yet. As far as his other friends, Nagisa's sadistic enjoyment of Haru's suffering was far too unpredictable; Rei and Kou were unsavory choices as well, as Haru wasn't sure he could withstand the secondhand embarrassment that surely awaited him if he spoke to Rei, and he didn't know Kou well enough to confess something so personal.

That left Rin.

Though perhaps a year ago Haru never would have gone to Rin for advice, Rin had matured from their tumultuous past. Minus Makoto, Rin was probably the most sensible of Haru's friends. Rei was ensnared too easily by Nagisa's ridiculous ideas and schemes, whereas Rin could manage to restrain himself. Plus, he was a safe distance away at Samezuka, outside of Haru and Makoto's daily paths.

Resigned and nervous, Haru pulled up his text conversation with Rin on the Saturday morning two weeks after his epiphany. Glancing over Rin's complaining about having to pay a fine in lieu of the incident on the boat, he took in a deep breath and began typing.

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **Rin**

A reply came a couple of minutes later, coincidentally as Haru took his final bites of some of the mackerel Rin gave to him as payment.

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **what**

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **Can I tell you something**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **why do i have the feeling that you're going to tell me anyways**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **fine go ahead**

Haru waited until after he'd cleaned his dish and dried his hands before picking up his phone again. A rumble of nerves vibrated in his chest as he paused to think over his phrasing, fingers trembling slightly when he tentatively began typing.

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **So**

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **I think I love Makoto**

The response was immediate.

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **no shit**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **how shocking**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **is that it?**

Haru's brows furrowed.

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **Rin**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **what?**

 _ **To: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **I mean romantically**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **obviously? i'm not an idiot**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **wait**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **WAIT**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **OH MY GOD**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **you're SERIOUS**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **OH MY FUCKING GOD**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **HAHAHA**

 _ **From: Matsuoka Rin**_

 **I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING**

Before Haru could consider what the hell was wrong with Rin, his phone buzzed in his hand and lit up with an incoming call from contact _Matsuoka Rin_.

 _Oh no._ Haru sighed, glaring at the phone, and after a second of deliberation he reluctantly pressed 'answer'. Without warning, piercing cackling burst through the speaker, stabbing Haru's eardrums. Haru yanked the phone away in shock, ear ringing painfully for a moment. With phone at arm's length, Rin's laughter warbled out the speaker while Haru waited for him to calm down enough to have a dignified conversation. Once the laughter fizzled into chuckles, Haru cautiously put the phone back to his ear.

"This is the best day of my life," Rin crowed, a little breathless.

Haru glowered and said nothing, waiting for Rin to explain himself.

Rin took a moment to catch his breath, huffing loudly into the mouthpiece. "Haru," he finally said, his voice under control. "You didn't _know_?"

" _No_ ," Haru said defensively.

"How the fuck did you not know? _Everyone_ knew."

Haru's brows furrowed. "What do you mean everyone knew?"

"Anyone with eyes," Rin answered. "Except you, apparently." He snorted. "Haru, you are dumber than a bag of bricks."

Haru's jaw twitched.

"You are _so_ oblivious," Rin provoked, insidious grin seeping through his voice.

"I am _not._ "

"Look, don't fight me on this," Rin insisted. "I've got way too much knowledge on the subject."

"What does that mean?"

"Haru," Rin said seriously, his voice dropping in pitch. Haru knew what came next couldn't be good, with Rin's tone a mixture of ' _I am a Mature Adult'_ and ' _listen here you little shit'_. "Did you know that I liked you in elementary school?"

"You _what_?"

"I rest my case," Rin announced smugly. " _Oblivious._ "

This wasn't where Haru had expected the conversation to go. "You… liked me?"

"Don't worry," Rin scoffed. "I quickly came to my senses. You're too infuriating and high maintenance."

 _Likewise,_ Haru thought, prickling with spite. "Whatever," he dismissed. "You like Yamazaki now, right?"

Loud choking rolicked in Haru's ear. "What?!" Rin spluttered. "How the fuck did you know that?!"

"You just said I'm oblivious."

"Okay, okay, oblivious when it comes to _yourself_ ," Rin corrected bitterly. "Christ." He sighed in resigned agitation. "But anyways, we're not here to talk about me, we're here to talk about _you_ -"

 _Oh no._

"-and your love for _Makoto_ -"

"Shut up," Haru hissed, tucking his burning face into the bend of his arm.

"-and what to do about your _hopeless_ love for Makoto," Rin finished, laughing savagely. "You know, really, it's simple: the next time you two are alone with each other, just put on the sensual music playlist I made for you. That ought to get things in the mood."

 _No._

Disgusted, Haru set his phone down on the counter before him, refusing to dignify Rin's suggestion with a response. He waited with crossed arms, listening to Rin's tinny blustering until a faint "Okay, I'm sorry!" came from the earpiece. Grumpily, he unfolded his arms and picked the phone back up.

"It was a _joke_ , you humorless prick!" Rin was saying when Haru brought the phone to his ear. "Oi, Haru? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Haru grunted tersely.

"Jeez, you don't have to say it in that tone," Rin complained, sounding frustrated. He inhaled deeply. "Look," he said, teasing front fading out. He paused, letting the silence paint over their previous squabble. "You should just _tell_ him."

Haru's stomach contracted with anxiety.

"And yeah, I get it," Rin continued, not needing a verbal response. "You don't want to say anything unless you're sure he loves you back, right?"

"I guess…" Haru mumbled.

Rin snorted ungracefully. "You're such an idiot," he drawled. "Makoto's been devoted to you since the dawn of time."

Haru blinked.

"You have it so easy," Rin said. "God, just _say_ it. Normally I'd suggest doing something romantic, but knowing you, that's a lost hope. You'll feel so much better after you tell him."

"I guess."

"Don't guess," Rin commanded, "do." Satisfied with his coaching, he exhaled. "And if all else fails, you could listen to my playlist," he added, snickering. "Maybe you could get some inspiration."

Haru scowled. "Good _bye_ , Rin," he snapped, hanging up on Rin's raucous laughter.

Slapping his phone down on the kitchen counter, Haru stalked away, crackling with annoyance. _Stupid Rin,_ he ranted internally. _Him and that dumb playlist._ He paced back and forth in the hallway, gritting his teeth. _Stupid._

After pacing for a few minutes, riled up, he ran back to his room and collected his laundry. With no other way to release his pent up irritation and energy, Haru rushed through a succession of chores, flitting from laundry to dishes to sweeping. The house glittered with cleanliness, contrasting to the tar oozing in Haru's brain. Once everything was done, he ambled back to his room, hands still itching to fix something. His desk was just barely disorderly, so he jumped at the opportunity to organize it, forming piles of paper and notebooks based on their content. As he reached across the smooth mahogany to put a couple of pencils in the pen holder, something caught his eye and he stopped.

 _Playlist of Best Sensual Songs._

The little piece of plastic glared at Haru and he glared back, narrowing his eyes. _Why haven't I thrown that out yet?_ he wondered, unfreezing and placing his pencils in their rightful spot. He pried his eyes away from it and focused down at his working hands instead, trying to put it out of mind. But all he could see was it laughing at him and taunting him as he crammed papers into drawers. _Stupid._ He shut the drawer and straightened up to full height, his hands on his hips and his eyes on the hard drive. After a moment of staring, he bent over and picked it up, stepping away from the desk in search of his laptop.

 _I'm going to regret this,_ he thought, his body ignoring his brain's wishes and pulling out his laptop from its spot underneath the bedside table. He flopped down on his bed and sat with it resting in his lap, quickly opening it and typing in his password. Once to his desktop, he inserted the drive into the slot along the side, and within a couple of seconds, the drive loaded and the file popped up on his desktop. Putting in his earbuds and inhaling tiredly, he clicked it.

There were ten songs on the playlist, but to Haru's surprise, attached to each one was a file reading 'TRANSLATION OF LYRICS'. Haru squinted at them, lip curled in distaste. _Rin put way too much effort into this_. Despite all his blustering and denial, maybe Rin actually enjoyed making playlists. _Is this a hobby of his?_ Haru shuddered at the thought.

Turning his attention back to the songs themselves, Haru frowned at the first song's ominous file name of 'hahaha'. _What does that mean?_ Glancing down at his keyboard, he hesitantly clicked play, expecting the worst.

Painfully 1970s' guitar and synthesized strings filled his ears, overlain with man's warbly and shouty voice singing in what sounded like English. It wasn't horrible, but it didn't strike Haru as sensual. Perplexed, he opened the lyrics.

 _I believe in miracles_

 _Where you from_

 _You sexy thing_

Haru slammed his laptop shut.

* * *

For lack of anything better to consume his time with, Haru lay like sludge on his bedroom floor, thinking and wondering when he'd become such a pathetic excuse for a human being. He rarely wallowed in self-pity, but now with a tumult of hidden emotions pouring out, he didn't know what else to do. _You're ridiculous,_ he berated himself, staring up at the paneled white of the ceiling. _It's just Makoto. It shouldn't be that different._ Yet he couldn't bring himself to sit up and do something.

His mind traveled back to Rin's words: " _Makoto's been devoted to you since the dawn of time."_ Did that mean Makoto loved him too? Well, he knew Makoto loved him platonically, but devotion didn't necessarily mean romantic devotion. Up until now, Haru was devoted to Makoto as a friend, and devoted to things separate from romance like water, so Makoto's devotion might not be anything more than as a best friend. Though, Makoto had never mentioned anything about romantic interest in others, which seemed like something he would share with Haru. Could his silence mean he loved Haru?

Haru didn't know how long he lay there, lost in his own chasm of anxiety and paranoia, when a disruptive crack from his door sliced through the silence. Haru landed back in reality with a thud, eyes flicking to the door, and to his delight and despair, Makoto cautiously peered in. Pulse thrumming in his neck, Haru panicked and watched as Makoto pushed the door all the way open. _You idiot,_ he growled at himself, frozen on the floor, remembering he had invited Makoto over to do homework the day previously, since Ren and Ran were stuck at home sick.

Makoto's gaze fell on Haru. "Haru?" he asked, frowning. "Why are you lying on the floor?"

Haru swallowed thickly. "I felt like it," he mumbled lamely.

"Oh." Makoto raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly, clearly not understanding Haru's reasoning, but accepting it anyways. His eyes ping ponged from Haru to his own feet. "Um, can I come in?"

Haru pushed up to sitting. "You don't have to ask," he muttered, looking at the floor and scooting over to his school bag.

After a breath's hesitation, Makoto stepped inside and sat down a little distance aways from Haru, sliding his backpack from his shoulders and letting it fall to the ground. Ducking his head, he dragged the backpack into him and unzipped it, hands searching through its contents. Once he found the papers he was looking for, he pulled them out and set them on the floor before him, withdrawing a pencil from the smaller pocket and beginning to work. Hands still on the zipper of his backpack, Haru watched him. A particle of dust tickled the back of his throat, and he stilled as he noticed the broadness of Makoto's shoulders beneath his heathered gray t-shirt.

Makoto looked, well, good.

 _Oh no,_ Haru reeled, revolted at himself. Throat dry and raspy, he tried smothering the aching warmth in the pit of his stomach. _When have I ever noticed what someone was wearing?_ He'd never once cared what Makoto wore, but his revelation had sub-revelations; not only did he love Makoto, he was attracted to Makoto and ogled at him like Kou did. Wanting to snap out of his stupor yet unable to peel his attention away, Haru dumbly stared at Makoto for a laughably long time, woozy and shaky tendrils of energy swirling in his chest. _Why am I acting like I've never seen him before?_

Makoto's head turned. "Haru?"

 _Shit._ Heat flooded to Haru's cheeks under the careful scrutiny of green eyes. Flustered at being caught, Haru blankly sat there like a lump of dough, searching for some explanation that wasn't too pitiful. Hot air drizzled from his parted lips, but carried no words. _Just tell him!_ Haru's mental image of Rin shouted. _What the fuck are you waiting for, you moron?!_ Yet beside the real, living and breathing Makoto, with his own thoughts and feelings beyond Haru's reach, Haru was petrified, helplessly watching his own disintegration.

Makoto sat still, his expression calm and unreadable, homework and pencil in his hands. Splotchy pink coated his ears and dotted the skin along his cheekbones. Blinking, he released the paper and pencil, his fingers relaxing and curling into his palms. Twisting to face Haru, his hand reached up, almost as if controlled by a marionette string, and gently brushed a lock of hair out of Haru's face. The already limited breath in Haru's chest froze, Makoto's fingers hovering for a second above the tip of Haru's ear.

"It was in your eye," was all Makoto said, dropping his arm and turning back to his homework.

In stunned silence, Haru sat stone still as Makoto picked up his pencil and began working again.

 _Huh?_

Pulse crawling up his throat and threatening to choke him, Haru blinked dizzily. What was _that_? Haru's preexisting crisis plunged to dangerous depths, his mind ablaze with bewilderment and curiosity. Not a sliver of any of Makoto's thoughts and intentions showed as Makoto did his homework, nonchalant and completely oblivious to Haru's internal disaster. Unable to read his mind like usual, Haru wished he could bore into Makoto's head and see what was going on. _Is he going to say anything? Should I say something?_

Imaginary Rin barked that now was as good a time as any to confess, but still, Haru's vocal chords and resolve remained locked, so Haru set his sights on distracting himself with homework. His hands trembled with adrenaline as he picked out the book he was supposed to read for literature. Conjuring the image of blinders, he focused on the yellowing page, determined to block Makoto from sight and thought. His determination crumbled quickly; he kept reading the same sentence over and over, unable to process the words with his body and mind overwhelmingly attuned to the person beside him. _I should say something,_ he thought, eyes glazing over the characters for 'expecting a visit' for the tenth time. _If he doesn't say something, I will._

"Hey, Haru?"

Haru jumped and whipped his head to Makoto, adrenaline spiking through his veins again. Caught between _Please say something_ and _Please don't say anything_ , Haru swallowed down the rising swarm of words in the back of his throat.

"What?"

"Can I use your computer to look something up?" Makoto asked, gesturing to his homework with his free hand.

 _Oh._ Haru exhaled, tension deflating. "Yeah." Partly relieved and partly disappointed, he stood up and retrieved his laptop from his bed, handing it to Makoto.

"Thanks, Haru," Makoto said, smiling as he cracked open the laptop.

"It's nothing," Haru replied, barely audible, and turned back to his book. He didn't need to tell Makoto the password, because he used 'SABA' for almost all of his passwords. With the clicking of keys in his ears, Haru took a deep breath and and looked to the sentence he'd been stuck on. He calmed down enough to actually manage to get through it, and with newfound focus, he got through another.

He was in the middle of his third when a strange cough from Makoto disrupted the roll he was on. Looking up, he found Makoto frowning at the computer screen with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.

"A-Ah," he choked quietly, as if he didn't want Haru to hear. "Um."

The word 'what' on his lips, a horrible memory landed on Haru like an anvil from above. _No no no._ Tossing his book aside, he scrambled up and snatched the laptop away from Makoto, who squeaked in surprise. Haru's suspicion was set in stone when the words on the screen gleamed menacingly at him.

 _I believe in miracles_

 _Where you from_

 _You sexy thing_

Haru ripped the hard drive from its slot and flung it across the room in the general direction of the trash can. It landed with a _thunk_ against the base of the wall, and fell to the floor about a half of a meter away from the trash. Pulling the laptop up to his face, Haru hurriedly exited out of the folder, his hands shaking and his face sizzling red. Once any hint of sensual playlist was gone, Haru shoved the laptop back to Makoto, shamefully training his eyes to the floor. Tentatively, Makoto took the laptop, and once Haru felt the laptop's weight lifted from his hands, he plopped back down and buried his nose in the book. Stuffy silence rang in his ears, and his neck prickled with Makoto's gaze.

"Um," Makoto piped up, quiet and mouse-like. "Was that… that playlist Rin made?"

Haru scowled into the pages of the book. "Yeah," he grunted.

"Ah." Makoto's breath hitched like he wanted to say more, but something stopped him and he turned back to the laptop and his homework.

In the tight, uncomfortable silence, Haru wondered if it was possible to drop-kick himself into the ocean.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **If you've never heard the song You Sexy Thing (I Believe in Miracles) by Hot Chocolate, please stop reading and listen to it immediately. It's one of those songs that one needs to experience at least once in one's life.**

 **RIP consistent updates on this fic. -_- I just got sucked so deep into the Haikyuu and BTS fandoms these past two months or so that I had a hard time feeling inspired to write Free!. Also, senioritis hit me like a brick. I thought it was bad last semester. -pained laughter- But anyways, I rewatched the first season of Free! over spring break and now I'm back in Free! hell. Ayyy, pain!**

 **Speaking of other fandoms, if you like Haikyuu and Kagehina, I wrote a very cringeworthy oneshot called Dearest Dumbass. The premise of it actually was originally an idea for this fic, but I liked it better for Kagehina rather than Makoharu. You can see how it could've been in this though, if you read it. (aw yis self promotion)**

 **As always, you can find my dumpster lifestyle on tumblr at _broniichan_. Peace out. **


	9. Apocalypse Now

Rin raised his hand. "Yo."

"Thank you for meeting me, Rin-san," Rei said, peeling himself from the wall.

"Yeah, sure." Rin tugged at the zipper of his sweatshirt, pulling it to just below his collarbones. He shoved his hands into the pockets and shifted his weight into one hip. "What's up?"

"Well…" Glancing at the ground for a second, Rei fiddled with his glasses. "I came here to speak with you about Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai. I imagine you're well aware of their… situation."

Rin's eyes rolled up to the sky. "I'm aware."

"And I also imagine that you're tired of and impatient with them skirting around each other."

A snort. "Hard not to be."

"Indeed," Rei said, nodding. "It has been rather torturous watching from the sidelines, but I figured it would resolve with time, so I've kept out of their business. Only, your sister and Nagisa-kun are not so patient."

"Don't tell me."

"They devised a competition where they use ridiculous plots to get Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai to realize their feelings and confess, and whoever gets one of them to confess first wins." Rei folded his arms. "I warned them against it, but, well, you know how stubborn the two of them are." He heaved a sigh. "Frankly, it's gotten far too out of hand, and I think it's made things between Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai worse."

Groaning with eyes mushed shut, Rin rubbed his left eye with his palm. "Of course," he muttered. "No wonder Haru is acting so skittish."

"Wait, has he said something about feelings for Makoto-senpai?"

"Yeah, he sort of asked me for advice. He was pretty clueless and a bit of a mess, really. I told him to just tell Makoto, but he hasn't done anything." Rin chuckled darkly. "Of course, knowing that Gou and Nagisa have been playing with him, it's understandable."

"Yes, I've witnessed some…" A shudder rippled up Rei's torso. "Frightening moments."

Eyes down, Rin scuffed the sidewalk with the sole of his sneaker. "Jeez."

"Anyways." Rei straightened his spine. "I mainly wanted to inform you of the issue since you and I are the only reasonable ones left." He cleared his throat. "Relatively."

" _Relatively?_ "

"Well, forgive me for saying, Rin-san," Rei said, sounding unapologetic, "but I'm not the one who bribed my friend to spy on my sister."

"Hey."

Rei smirked. "Really, you and your sister are more similar than either of you would like to admit."

Jaw clenching, Rin ran a hand through his hair. "I'll have you know I ended my agreement with Haru." He haughtily arched an eyebrow. "I realized I was wrong to intrude, so I'm letting Gou deal for herself."

"How noble of you."

Sharp teeth glistened. "Shut up."

Shoulders shaking with laughter at Rin's expression of curdled milk, Rei plopped his hands on his hips. "Well," he said, barely masking his laughs, "if there's hope for you, maybe there's hope for them."

"Yeah, yeah," Rin sighed, waving him away with a hand.

"But as I was saying, I think at the moment all we can do is try not to aggravate the situation further. I'll keep watch over Kou-chan and Nagisa-kun, and maybe you can try to get Haruka-senpai a bit more confident," Rei delegated. "Hopefully, this can end before anything catastrophic happens."

Rin gave Rei a skeptical look. "Knowing Gou and Nagisa, I doubt it."

* * *

During lunch on the rooftop, Nagisa's eyes glittered like stolen gemstones.

"Hey, why don't we have a team sleepover?"

"No," Haru said.

"No, Nagisa-kun," Rei said.

"Eh…" Makoto mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Nagisa's elbow plopped onto Makoto's shoulder. "That's two against two!"

Makoto blinked and turned. "I didn't-"

"Come on, it would be fun!" Nagisa prodded, giving Haru and Rei his best begging dog look. "Just the four of us. Movies, popcorn."

Kou ate her lunch in silence, but it seemed like she was mentally dismembering Nagisa by the ominous sheen in her eyes.

"Nagisa-kun, a word, please?" Rei placed an iron grip on Nagisa's shoulder.

Letting out a sigh laced with bravado, Nagisa reluctantly unglued himself from Makoto and stood. Veins popped from Rei's hand as he steered Nagisa away from the group and to the other side of the roof. With a frown, Makoto twisted around and watched them burst into bickering, chopsticks sitting unused his hand, before flicking his eyes to Haru.

"I wonder what that's about," he said.

Haru's shoulders rose and fell, his eyes downcast. Makoto turned back to Rei and Nagisa, their voices tinny and shrill in the distance and their arms flailing with drama, while Haru picked at his food. Nagisa's proposal set him on edge; a potential minefield of embarrassment, and he'd suffered enough on his own account that he didn't need Nagisa's assistance to feel like slug. He still skittered around Makoto, despite imaginary and real Rin's urgings, and couldn't launch himself into action. Fear and uncertainty anchored him, and nothing was sharp enough to cut him loose.

Haru snapped himself out of his spiral of self-deprecation, turning to see Rei and Nagisa marching back, the air tense and crackling. Unnatural smile plastered to his cheeks, Nagisa flopped down beside Makoto and retrieved his bento.

"Rei-chan has graciously agreed to host a sleepover at his house," Nagisa chirped, cramming a wad of food into his mouth.

 _I doubt he agreed_ , Haru thought, glancing from Nagisa's devious eyes to Rei's pursed lips.

"Yes," Rei announced, remaining upright. Fingers delicately pushed back crimson glasses as his cool gaze swept over them. "I will supervise."

The word 'supervise' dangled in the air with Rei and Nagisa's eyes locked with each other, and Haru's arms prickled with foreboding.

Somehow, Haru found himself at the Ryugazakis' door the next Saturday, an overnight bag over his shoulder and Makoto at his side. Rei answered and led them inside, showing off the house with grandeur. The house was small but pristine and vibrant, with eclectic paintings on every wall and vases and pottery dotting every table. Rei stopped the tour midway to analyze the composition and tone of his favorite painting, which Haru thought much less appealing compared to the vase with fish carved in its clay. Makoto liked the one featuring a blobby creature resembling either a dog or a raccoon if looked at through squinted eyes.

Rei's parents greeted them from the kitchen. Like Rei, they considered themselves connoisseurs of anything artistic, and a heavy fog of some experimental Caribbean dish hung over the kitchen.

Nagisa appeared at the front door about fifteen minutes later, laden with fluffy pillows and three bags. He pried the flaps open and showed them the twenty movies he'd stashed in one bag and the snacks he'd stuffed in the other. Rei pressed a hand to his mouth and turned ashy at the selection of snacks. The three of them helped lug Nagisa's stuff to Rei's room where Rei and Nagisa were staying while Haru and Makoto were in Rei's brother's old room. They panted as they carried the bags, and speculated whether Nagisa had packed rocks.

Dinner time came. Rei's father boasted the meal's nutritional benefits and the high quality vegetables they procured just for it. Haru poked at it for a minute with a dubious look, but he actually liked it once he tried it, while Nagisa inhaled it in twenty seconds and Makoto hacked at its spiciness. The air was light with comfortable conversation, and Haru began to have fun, forgetting his anxiety and enjoying just being with his friends.

To Nagisa's disappointment, no dessert followed the meal, so once everyone's plates were empty, the four of them cleaned up for Rei's parents. When everything was spotless again, a smile lit Nagisa's face.

"Let's watch a movie!" he suggested.

With nothing else in mind and Rei's parents retired to the back bedroom, they agreed and moved to the den. Nagisa flitted to Rei's room and scurried back with his bag, dumping his movies to the floor with a clatter. They picked through titles; Nagisa brought a lot of horror and action, taglines promising gore and blood and vengeance. Rei clucked dismissively as he read the descriptions, while Makoto eyed the ghouls and blood splatters with apprehension, Haru watching him out of the corner of his eye.

Nagisa held up one of the only movies that wasn't gory or scary. "How about this one?"

Makoto gave a knee-jerk nod. Haru followed in suit and a defeated sigh broke out Rei's mouth. Looking pleased, Nagisa kneeled and pushed the other movies into a messy pile on the mats before darting back into Rei's room. He returned bearing an armload of snacks, knowing well no one else wanted any after dinner and he'd have to eat them all himself. They crinkled in his wiry arms.

Rei cracked open the the movie case and slid the DVD into the slot while Makoto took a seat on the antique couch. After a breath, Haru sat down beside him, leaving a six-inch gap in between. He placed his attention on Rei fiddling with the DVD player, but with Makoto so close in his periphery, his blood quickened its pace. He chewed on the inside of his lip. _Pathetic._

More crinkles came from Nagisa as he dropped the snacks on the armchair adjacent to the couch. A packet in his hand, he turned to face them.

"I'm going to make some of that chocolate sports drink Gou-chan gave us," he announced, flapping the packet. "Anyone want anything to drink?"

"Water," Haru said.

"Of course, Haru-chan," Nagisa smirked, winking. "What about you, Rei-chan?" He shook the powder at Rei's back. "I have another packet if you want one."

"No thank you," Rei said, one hand on his hip and the other holding aloft the TV remote. "I will not ingest that vile substance."

Nagisa giggled, giving the packet one last shake in Rei's direction before looking to Makoto. "Mako-chan?"

"Oh, water, I guess."

"Sure thing," Nagisa chirped. "Back in a flash." He vanished around the corner.

While Nagisa was gone, Rei readied the movie and plopped beside Haru on the couch, tucking a tiny yawn behind his hand. Nagisa reappeared precariously cradling three glasses, two with clear liquid and the other with milky brown liquid. He tiptoed over to the couch's other end, setting his revolting chocolate concoction down on the side table, and offered the two waters to Haru and Makoto. Haru downed his almost immediately. After a quick dash to his snack loot, Nagisa hopped onto the couch and Rei pressed 'Play.'

In about fifteen minutes, Haru wished they'd chosen a horror movie instead, for death and unrealistic blood splatters were delightful alternatives to the truly atrocious romantic comedy on the screen. Dialogue and plot soggy with sap and stereotypes, the movie featured cookie cutter leads traversing down the well-worn path of 'hate-at-first-sight' to 'just-kidding-it-was-actually-love-at-first-sight.' Haru kept hoping an axe murderer would leap out from behind a wall and take out the insufferable characters, yet unfortunately, a happy ending was guaranteed. Boredom sprouted at the chaos and drama the characters and Nagisa seemed to relish, and Haru entertained himself by picking at a scab on his elbow.

Haru's eye sockets ached more and more as the movie dragged on, his eyelids drooping. His breath inched slower while he dully prayed it would stop entirely and end his torture, giving up on his scab with limbs sluggish and weighted into the couch. The movie drizzled into just mere images and flashes of dialogue as his energy and focus slid. Through half-shut eyes, the screen seemed fuzzy and warped, rippling and shimmering like a mirage. His annoyance dissolved as he lost track of what was happening in the film, a careless buoyancy replacing it.

His head grew heavy, and his neck worked overtime to hold it still, but he wasn't strong enough to keep it from tilting and drifting to his right. He managed to jerk it straight each time, but by the tenth time, he was exhausted.

He surrendered and let his head drop onto Makoto's shoulder. Makoto twitched, but he made no response, attentive to the movie. Cheek pressed against warm cloth, Haru exhaled a puff of air and scooted closer, hip and arm by Makoto's side. He readjusted his head higher on Makoto's shoulder, fitting in the dip above his collarbone. His hair brushed Makoto's neck.

Neither moved for some time, eyes still to the television screen. Makoto's shoulder rose and fell with his breath's cyclical waves, Haru's head coming with. The movie plodded on, but Haru wasn't paying attention, and he sensed Makoto wasn't either. Nothing mattered other than how warm and comfortable he was and how soothing Makoto's presence was. A fog leeched Haru's skull and filled into the crevices, separating him from reality and lulling him into sleepy apathy.

Haru lifted his head an inch and craned his neck. Makoto stayed fixated on the movie, expression neutral and chin lifted, eyes reflecting the television's glow. Haru's angle put him at the junction of his collarbones above the shirt collar, and his gaze followed along the slope of Makoto's neck to the underside of his jaw. Faint hints of stubble prickled Makoto's chin.

Eyelids flickering, Haru lowered his eyes and straightened his neck. Spine spiraling, he reached his left hand around and placed it on Makoto's chest. Makoto gave a jerk.

"Haru?"

Haru said nothing, and feeling Makoto's eyes on him, kept his attention to his splayed fingers. Palm in between pectorals, he sensed Makoto's ribs sliding and readjusting with every inflation of his lungs and his pulse's dim thrum beneath the fabric. After taking inventory of several breaths, Haru's hand skimmed up Makoto's neck, riding over his collarbone and scalding skin to come to a stop at the side of his jaw. Makoto's Adam's apple bobbed. Haru's thumb pressed into Makoto's cheek while his other fingers dipped into the hair behind Makoto's ear.

"Makoto."

Brows arched, Makoto blinked down at him. "W-What, Haru-chan?"

Mind distant and misty, Haru was consumed by the freckles sprinkled beneath Makoto's eyes.

"Makoto," he repeated stupidly.

A frown creased Makoto's forehead. "Are you okay?"

Haru's arm felt like loose sticks, and it wilted and flopped back down over Makoto's torso. "M'fine," he mumbled, barely keeping his eyes pried open. Drawing his arm into himself, he ducked his head down and buried his face into Makoto's shoulder with eyes squinched shut. Makoto squirmed, but didn't pull away.

Faint snickers echoed. With his vision dark and his head inside a goldfish bowl, Haru payed them no attention and butted his forehead against Makoto's shoulder. Weirdly comforted by the sensation, he tilted his chin down to the top of his head, pushing with force. Eyes still closed, he twisted his neck and rubbed back and forth along the side of his head, hair cushioning his skull.

Confused bouts of chuckles bubbled from Makoto. "Haru," he breathed. "You're… you're like a cat."

Haru paused and opened his eyes, bangs askew. "Meow," he muttered in a low voice, and resumed rubbing.

"U-Uh-" Makoto's voice spiked. "Haru, are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Sighing, Haru stopped and tore himself away. "Tired." He tipped at the waist and tumbled into Makoto's lap. Makoto yelped and jumped. Haru's face squished into the couch's armrest, his arm awkwardly pinned under him and his torso coiled away from his pelvis. He wriggled his arm free and settled onto his shoulder blade before adding, "Terrible movie."

"Okay, okay," Makoto said, sounding bemused. "Here, I'll take you to bed." A hand tugged at Haru's arm and the other pushed at the top of his spine, heaving his limp torso straight. Makoto lifted Haru's floppy arm and slipped under it, allowing Haru's weight to fall into him. He clasped Haru's wrist to hold his arm across his shoulders, and bracing Haru with an arm around his waist, he stood up and pulled Haru with him.

Makoto half-dragged, half-carried Haru to Rei's brother's room, the dim hallway blurry through Haru's lidded eyes. Once inside the room, Makoto deposited Haru as gently as he could onto one of the sleeping bags, kneeling with his back to the single lamp. The glaring light stung Haru's eyes, and he shut them as Makoto lifted his head to slide a pillow underneath. Blind, he let Makoto fix everything, feeling like a doll, tranquilized by delicate touch.

After a few moments of rustling cloth and down, Makoto's hands moved away and the room fell silent.

A light chuckle. "Goodnight, Haru-chan."

The lamp singed orange into Haru's eyelids. "Mm."

Nothing moved for a moment; then a tiny whoosh of an exhale broke out, and a hand cupped Haru's cheek. It lingered a second, tentative and soft, and then it was gone.

The lamp snapped off.

* * *

Touch came before sight when Haru slithered out of sleep.

His head laid halfway on the pillow and halfway on the carpet, with his sleeping bag bunched down to his waist. Curled onto his side, he felt pleasantly warm with his top arm resting around Makoto's torso and Makoto's back at his chest. _Oh. I should move._ But he couldn't bear to move in his stupor, and based on Makoto's leisurely breaths, he didn't need to, yet. Without consulting him first, Haru's arm tightened around Makoto's waist and tugged, his chin coming to dig into Makoto's nape. Haru's breaths aligned with Makoto's, nostrils tickled with air rushing in and out, the room's unfamiliar scents filing themselves in his brain. Though familiar, Makoto's scent seemed different, but with his thoughts just drifting phrases and images, Haru didn't have to capacity to think why.

Haru ducked his forehead into the ends of Makoto's hair, nose mushing into exposed skin. Makoto's breath stuttered, and his shoulder blades shifted against Haru's chest. Lifting his face away, Haru slowly blinked his eyes open, adjusting to early morning gloom. In the room's fuzzy temperature, Makoto's hair almost looked blue.

A sharp inhale. Eyes peered at Haru from over a shoulder.

"H-Haruka-senpai?"

Haru recoiled and shoved, scampering back across the floor. Eyes wide, horror swelled in his chest.

"You're- you're not-" He clamped his mouth shut. _Brilliant. Just blab how you thought you were cuddling with Makoto._

"A-Ah, no, I'm not Makoto-senpai," Rei blurted, looking equally repulsed and uncomfortable, fingers nervously pulling at his sleeping bag. Blue hair stuck out to one side, and his face seemed incomplete without glasses perched on his nose. "The sleeping arrangements changed after you went to bed."

Adrenaline and disgust still blaring, Haru took a moment to process Rei's words. His eyebrows twitched. "Why?"

Venom seeped into Rei's expression. "You can ask _him_ ," he growled, petulantly turning his back to Haru and flopping onto his side.

Haru gathered from Rei's biting tone that "him" wasn't Makoto.

Memories from last night dropped on Haru unannounced, pinning him. His mindless touching and stupidity replayed in full color, refusing to pause. _No, no, no._ Had he… meowed? Had he really done that? What sadistic demon had possessed him? Wide awake with mortification roiling up him, he frantically placed a single strip of tape over his crumbling dignity.

The four horsemen of the apocalypse laughed at him.

Pressing his hands to his steaming face, he let out a muted groan.

" _Him,_ " Rei had said.

Haru got out of his sleeping bag, Rei still silent and stony. Barefoot, he padded to the door and passed through it, shutting it behind him. It was early; life was still dead, but Haru wasn't afraid to revive it. He cracked open the next room's door and stepped inside, where Nagisa snored from Rei's bed and Makoto laid out on the floor. Mouth parted and hair a mess, Makoto looked calm and ignorant of any upcoming disasters. Haru winced, remembering Makoto's skin beneath his hand, and quickly looked away. Shame coloring his cheeks, he crept around Makoto, approaching the bed with sights on the tiny devil.

"Hey." Haru grabbed Nagisa's shoulder and shook. "Nagisa."

The snoring sputtered to a stop, a whine coming from Nagisa's throat. Upturned nose wrinkled. "Haru-chan?" he slurred, eyes squeezed shut. His head bobbed as Haru shook him again, and he moaned. "What… time… is it?"

Haru checked Rei's bedside table. "6:17."

Nagisa's moan deepened. "Too early," he complained, rolling over and burrowing into a pillow. The down muffled his voice. "Let me sleep."

"Nagisa," Haru pressed, yanking on Nagisa's arm. "What happened last night?"

Nagisa blindly patted Haru's hand away. "Nothing."

Swishes of cloth came from behind Haru, and his stomach convulsed.

"Haru?" Makoto's voice was low and scratchy.

Haru ignored him, mouth dry, and tried pulling Nagisa to face him. "Something wasn't right last night. I wasn't normal. What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Nagisa insisted, thumping onto his back with eyes open.

Haru shot him an icy glare. "I don't believe you."

In his periphery, Haru saw Makoto sit up and blearily rub his eyes. "What's…"

Nagisa's eyelids fluttered, pupils darting away. "W-Well," he squeaked, a tight smile on his lips. "I guess, um… It was just a harmless little... thing. Inconsequential. A speck of dust-"

"Tell me."

"Um, well-" Nagisa propped up on his elbows, chewing on his lip. "So… remember that allergy stuff you took last spring? I… _may_ have slipped some in your water last night."

Repressed memories sprung up of the week he'd been so loopy he accidentally stole someone's cat, thinking it a stray. His teeth gritted. " _Why?_ "

"Just a sleepover prank!" Nagisa answered too quickly, cheer pasted to his face. "Innocent fun!"

"That's not true."

Haru turned, finding Rei standing in the doorway with arms crossed. His glasses were back, but they didn't hide livid eyes.

"I'm not allowing this anymore, Nagisa-kun," he said, stepping inside. A wave of displeasure chilled the room. "You need to tell them."

 _Them?_

Still sitting on the floor, Makoto glanced up at Haru. His brows pinched together. "Tell us what?"

They turned to Nagisa, who receded behind his smile. "Ah, well, um-" He slid his chin underneath the blanket, eyes darting to the side. Nervous chuckles poured out of him, buying him precious seconds, before they dribbled to a stop. "Have you… Have you guys noticed any, um, weird things happen in the last month or so?"

Haru's brow furrowed. More unwanted reminders of his life's embarrassments and regrets surfaced.

Makoto was silent for a second before answering. "Yeah…"

"You were behind… those?" Haru asked, fighting to blot out the phrase _Playlist of Best Sensual Music_.

"Sort of," Nagisa said. "Gou-chan and I made this game with each other. It involved a bunch of schemes and, ah, you guys. We were competing against each other." He pressed his lips together. "It's been going on for awhile, and I guess it failed, because, um. Ah. Well. The point of it was to, uh, get one of you to tell the other you love them."

 _No._

"I mean, it's so obvious you're in love with each other. We just wanted to help." Fear glimmered in Nagisa's smile. "It was with good intentions, I swear."

Haru's mind careened off its tracks.

The gates of hell couldn't swallow him up, because he was already there.

"S-Sorry it had to come out like this…"

Skin burning red, Haru reeled, rooted to the floor with his eyes gouging Nagisa. He didn't dare look behind him. His face would've said it all, and he didn't want to know what sort of expression Makoto was wearing. Agitated pants fell from his mouth.

Makoto said nothing.

Nagisa's simpering, pleading face waved in front of Haru like an insult.

His fingers curled into shaky fists, blood raging in his veins. A hiss snaked out. " _Stay out of our lives._ "

He whipped around, wanting to flee, and accidentally met Makoto's eyes. He froze, insides frothing. He found no comfort in Makoto's expression; he was uncharacteristically expressionless, without any pull of his eyebrows or curve in his lips. Swallowing thickly, Haru wrenched his eyes away and plowed to the door. Rei moved aside and let Haru through, and Haru bolted down the hallway to the entry. He hurriedly slid on his shoes.

Crickets droned as he escaped outside, and the front door slammed behind him.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **-rises from coffin- IT LIVES**

 **Shout out to Carrochan for reminding me to get my shit together on this (though they didn't phrase it like that haha). Whoa, it's almost been a year since I started this fic. Time flies when you're procrastinating. The end is near, though; I'd say there's maybe two more chapters left?**

 **Anyways, thank you for bearing with me, and as always, I'm a Makoharu landfill on tumblr at broniichan.**


	10. All Around Me Are Familiar Faces

Haru ran.

It didn't matter where, really, so long as he kept moving. His feet took him all throughout Iwatobi, past trails and forests, metropolitan shopping centers and businesses. The sun shifted overhead, blooming from early morning to afternoon to late afternoon, heat inviting sweat, but he pushed on, one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other. It was Saturday, so he didn't have to worry about school or swimming. Yet.

It didn't matter where he went, so long as it didn't remind him of Makoto. But it was Iwatobi; everything reminded him of Makoto.

The sun dropped behind the horizon and the air began to cool long before he decided to return home. His feet ached, and his stomach let out echoing grumbles. Evening hit, streetlamps and lit windows guiding him back. Upon approaching his street, his throat closed, and he deliberately kept his eyes to the staircase, noting the bright windows from the Tachibanas'. He hopped up the steps as quickly as possible, finally escaping the reach of the light from Tachibanas' as he landed on his dark doorstep.

As per usual, his door was unlocked, so he cracked it open and stepped inside. Kicking off his shoes at the entryway, he fumbled for the light switch. He flicked the hallway light on.

Just inside the entryway, lying neatly on the floor, was Haru's overnight bag. No note, but Haru didn't need a note to know who left it.

After staring at it for a couple of moments, Haru leaned over and snatched up the handle. As he slid the bag over his shoulder, the side pocket resting against his torso buzzed. Another buzz. Ducking his head down, Haru unzipped the pocket and plucked out his cellphone, and waiting a couple of seconds, flipped it open.

 _21 Missed Calls. 8 Voicemails. 17 Unread Text Messages._

Stomach coiling, Haru tentatively checked the callers. Nagisa was the most frequent, followed by Rei, with a couple from Rin, and even one from Kou. Voicemails and texts were the same.

Nothing from Makoto.

Without opening a single text or voicemail, Haru pressed _Power Off._

After shoving the phone back into the pocket, Haru headed up the stairs, going to his room. Once inside, he dumped the bag onto the floor and went to his window. The Tachibanas' house was just below. Makoto's window was lit, though Haru saw nothing but his curtains. Haru closed his own curtains.

He returned back downstairs and went to the kitchen, flipping on the stove and frying up a filet of mackerel. Once done, he sat at his table and ate it in several bites, barely savoring it. He cleaned up, turned off all the lights, trudged back upstairs, and laid down in his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling.

It took him a while to fall asleep.

The next day, Sunday, a day usually reserved for homework, Haru did nothing. He laid in his bed, bundled up in the covers, with the shades drawn and the lights off, thinking and simultaneously not thinking. Makoto did not ring Haru's doorbell and come over to do homework, and Haru did not darken the Tachibanas' doorstep. No one else knocked at Haru's door either, and he was relieved.

But the relief died an abrupt and painful death, for the next day was Monday.

Post waking up, Haru settled into his typical morning bath with unease, ears pricked for someone to enter his house. He sat there in steadily cooling water, rattling anxiety bouncing off the walls of his chest. Even the water couldn't soothe him, his paranoia just rising as he sensed it was way too late for Makoto's usual time of arrival. He stayed, though, fingers and toes wrinkling, caught in Schrodinger's wait: hoping Makoto would come, but also hoping Makoto wouldn't.

When he'd sat in his tub for longer than considered sane, he forced himself to get up and pull himself together. He made a sloppy breakfast, catching a glance of the clock to confirm his lateness, and dressed himself as quickly as possible before pushing himself out the door.

He half-ran, half-walked to school and once there, he went straight for his classroom. He hesitated outside the closed door, Amakata-sensei's voice muffled from within. His insides churned, and he swallowed down a shallow breath.

Opening the door, he muttered, "Excuse me."

Immediately, all attention went straight to him, but he dropped his eyes and focused on getting to his desk, feeling like a festering piece of rotted meat. His desk was empty, but the one next to it was not.

"Ah, Haruka-kun," said Amakata-sensei, stopping mid-tirade. "Glad you could join us."

Haru dropped into his seat, letting his bag fall to the floor, and sighed, not even bothering to take out any notebooks or pencils. Too aware of Makoto's presence by his side, he didn't dare look anywhere but forwards.

Throughout classes, he didn't process a word of any lecture, and Makoto made no attempt at acknowledgement. Lunchtime came, but it was not a relief, because in his hurry in the morning, Haru had completely forgotten to make himself a lunch. Usually in this scenario, Makoto would offer some of his lunch to share, but the minute the bell rang for lunchtime, Haru jumped up and slipped out of the classroom. Hungry, he parked himself in a hallway and scribbled in his sketchbook to pass the time. All his drawings came out with hard lines and dark shading, and he hated each one.

Lunch over, Haru managed through the rest of classes, barely feeling any shame as teachers reprimanded him for his ignored homework. But then it was time for club activities. He spent the entirety of the last class stewing over whether to skip swim practice or not, before deciding he would somehow make himself go. He was already at school, after all. When class ended, he sped to the locker room without a second thought, arriving before everyone else. He tossed his stuff aside and ripped off his uniform, his swimsuit underneath, and headed to the pool.

Kou sat on the deck, brow furrowed over a clipboard. At his footsteps, she looked up. "Haru-senpai-"

Haru drowned out the rest of her sentence by diving into the pool.

He did laps, back and forth, back and forth, barely surfacing for air. Shortly, he was not the only one in the pool, but he kept his attention ahead, and no one came to interrupt him. His lungs and arms burned. Within time, shifting rays of light in the pool turned from bright early afternoon to golden late afternoon as he completed lap after lap. The others exited, so he became the only one carving any ripples.

Once Haru exhausted himself completely, he finally stopped at the end of his lane. Panting, he looked down at the water below him, and pulled off his cap and goggles. Droplets fell from his hair. He shook his head and looked out.

Sitting on the deck, as if waiting to pounce on their prey, were Nagisa and Rei, dried and dressed in their uniforms, with Kou beside them. A tentative smile crossed Nagisa's mouth. Rei was expressionless, his arms folded, and Kou had a rare look of guilt.

Haru clenched his jaw. A long pause.

Sighing, he pulled himself up out of the pool and came to stand on the deck. Immediately, Nagisa and Kou popped up, while Rei held back.

"Haru-chan!"

"Haru-senpai."

Both Nagisa and Kou bent over into low bows, saying in unison, "Please forgive us!"

Haru's hand tightened around his cap and goggles.

"I swear we were just wanting to help-"

"-it was horribly intrusive of us-"

"-we got really carried away-"

"-will never happen again-"

"-I understand if you don't want to talk to us-"

On and on the two babbled, increasingly emphatic and wallowing with their delivery, until Haru sighed. "Okay. I got it."

Silencing, the two slowly straightened up from their bows, both appearing somewhat apprehensive.

Nagisa's mouth curled into a little pout. "Haru-chan, we really-"

"I got it," Haru repeated. "Whatever, it's over."

Nagisa and Kou glanced to each other. Kou, looking back at Haru, said, "Haruka-senpai, are you really okay with-"

The embarrassment rose up in Haru again, and he tampered down the need for flight. "As long as you apologize to Makoto too."

"Oh, we, ah, already did," Nagisa said, grimacing. "He was… um… kind of angry."

Haru frowned. "Angry?"

"I mean, he didn't yell at us or anything, he just sounded… disappointed." Nagisa shuddered, and a hint of a rueful smile shaped his lips. "He said the same thing, though."

"What same thing?"

"To apologize to you too."

Haru was quiet for a couple of moments.

"But Haru-chan, really," Nagisa continued, expression turning serious again, "we are really, truly sorry about this."

Swallowing, Haru looked away. "It's fine. We don't have to talk about it any more."

Leaving them hanging, Haru fed his desire to run and turned away. He left the pool, ignoring Rei's all-knowing look.

When Haru returned home that night, the Tachibanas' house was again lit from inside. He ate a simple dinner alone, looking off into the kitchen. He then went to his room and, mentally imagining Makoto chiding him, forced himself to do all the homework he was behind on. It took a couple of hours to get through it all, and his hand and eyes stung by the end of it, but he was oddly proud that he managed to do it all without someone prodding him.

Once done, he turned off his desk lamp, sending his room into darkness. Little pieces of outside light snuck in through the cracks of his curtains. Curiosity tugging at Haru, he pushed one side open just enough for him to sneak a look. Makoto's light was on, but again, his curtains were closed.

Haru let go, leaving the curtain to fall shut again, and turned back to face his room. His overnight bag, waiting to be unpacked, still rested on the floor. It glared at him, and he back. Finally, he kneeled down beside it and fished out his phone. Standing back up just to plop down on his bed, he turned it on, surprised to find it with enough battery life. He folded his arm under his head and scrolled through the text messages, reading all of them. They all ended up merging together.

 **haru-chan please come back! i'm so sorry! :'(**

 **i just want to talk! call me please!**

 **aaaaaaaa you left your phone and bag at rei-chan's**

 **mako-chan said he'll bring it to your house**

 **when you get these please call me! i didn't mean to hurt you**

 **Haruka-senpai, I am so sorry about what Nagisa-kun and Gou-kun have been doing, and I am sorry I didn't bring it up to you or Makoto-senpai earlier. They should have respected your business and I should have stopped them. I hope you can forgive us for this.**

 **Please let us know you are okay! We're all worried about you.**

 **Well, we just discovered your phone is here, so you aren't even getting these. Makoto-senpai says he will return your belongings. I hope to see you on Monday, and again, I am so sorry about all this.**

 **Haru-senpai, Nagisa just called me and I'm so sorry! I left a longer voicemail but I just wanted to apologize again. I completely overstepped my bounds. :/**

 **yo haru I just heard what happened from rei**

 **if you need to have a race or something to blow off steam just let me know**

Haru read through them and listened to the voicemails, one by one, until his eyes drooped and he fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up, looking up at the dim ceiling for a couple of minutes before picking himself up out of bed. Skipping over his usual bath, he changed into his uniform straightaway and quickly made and ate his breakfast. One eye on the clock, he finished much earlier than usual. After gathering himself together, he slung his bag over his shoulder and went to the entryway to put on his shoes.

All ready to go, he stood, facing his door, and took a deep inhale. He left his house.

Warm sun flickered down on him, and a gentle breeze rustled his hair, smelling, as always, of salt. He shuffled down the stone steps, going fast so his mind couldn't catch up, and stopped in front of the Tachibanas' door. He knocked before he could have a chance to second guess himself.

From the other side, a voice called, "Just a second!"

In a couple of moments, footsteps drew near, and a latch clicked. The door opened, and Haru found himself looking down at Makoto's mom.

"Oh, Haru-kun!" she said, raising her eyebrows. "This is a surprise!" She smiled and opened the door wider. "Come in, come in, Makoto is just about ready."

Dipping his head, Haru stepped in. "Thank you."

Shutting the door behind himself, he stayed in the entryway, while she headed back to the kitchen. Within a couple of moments, excited chatter rose echoed from the dining room, and two sets of feet pattered down the hallway.

"Haru-nii-chan!"

Ren and Ran burst out, rushing towards him and tackling him with a big hug.

Staggering back a step, Haru allowed himself a smile. "Hi."

"I missed you!" Ran said as she squeezed his torso. "It's been _years_ since I've seen you!"

"Me too!" Ren chirped.

Haru gently patted at their backs. "I missed you guys too."

Letting him go, they rattled off every interesting that had happened in their lives recently. Haru listened, catching bits and pieces about some school play, where some other girl had sabotaged Ran in order to get the lead role and Ren had accidentally drawn blood from someone by hitting them with a prop sword.

The hallway creaked.

" _Haru?_ "

Haru looked up from the twins, pulse quickening. Makoto stood outside his bedroom doorway, dressed fully in his uniform with his backpack on his shoulder, his eyes wide.

Makoto closed his bedroom door and cautiously walked forward. "What are you doing here?" he asked, brows quirked.

Reaching up, Haru adjusted his bag's strap with a small smirk. "We have school, don't we?"

For a couple of heartbeats, Makoto stared at him, before a soft smile spread over his face. "Yeah," he agreed.

His cheeks heating up, Haru glanced down at his watch. "Don't make me late."

" _Haru._ "

After hearing the last of Ran and Ren's tales, Haru departed for school, Makoto by his side. Although the walk was awkward and conversation was a tad stilted, Haru's world felt partially reordered.


	11. The Conclusion

School and life progressed as normal. Kou unleashed some horrific new training regimens upon them to kick them into shape, classes remained uninteresting at best and a waste of time at worst, Nagisa and Rei continued their theatrics, and Haru and Makoto walked to and from school together and did homework together.

Almost _too_ normal.

None of them, not even Nagisa, mentioned anything related to Haru and Makoto's relationship, and for a couple of weeks, Haru was relieved. But as time wore on, he grew significantly… less relieved.

One weekend, Rin invited Haru and the rest of them to a joint practice at Samezuka. Haru accepted, knowing well that Rin wanted more than to just swim and reconnect with his old friends. He and Makoto showed up early on a Saturday morning. A handful of people were already there, including that gray-haired kid Haru could never remember the name of, and Rin.

Spotting Haru and Makoto, Rin sauntered over with a warm smile. "Yo."

"Hey, Rin," Makoto chirped.

Rin was a good actor, but Haru could tell he was trying to gauge the vibe. His eyes flickered between Haru and Makoto, brow arched. "What's new in Iwatobi?" he asked.

"Mm, it's much the same," answered Makoto, shrugging. "Just schoolwork and swimming. Kou-chan has been killing us with her workouts." He chuckled.

"Damn right," Rin said, with pride. "I'll be disappointed if I can beat you guys really easily today."

"You won't," interjected Haru, loftily.

A glimmer of competition in Rin's eyes. "Good."

Once the rest of their two respective teams arrived, the practice went off well. Rin beat Haru in free by just a hair, but Haru came back victorious in the final stretch of the relay. During backstroke, when Haruka sat on the side bench, watching and drinking from his water bottle, Rin plopped down beside him. Haru figured Rin would single him out at some point, and what better time to do it other than when Makoto was occupied with swimming and Nagisa and Rei were preparing for breast and fly.

Rin spent a couple of moments watching the action before pushing back his damp hair from his forehead and looking to Haru. "So?" he said, with a small, knowing smile. "How are you holding up?"

Haru limply raised his shoulder. "Fine."

"' _Fine_ ,'" Rin parroted. "By that, I'm guessing you and Makoto haven't talked?"

"We've talked."

" _Really_ talked."

Haru said nothing, watching the slosh of water at Makoto's flip turn. "Did you know?"

"About Nagisa and Gou's stupid game?" Rin clarified. "Yeah, but Rei told me only a couple days before you found out about it, and even if I had known earlier, there is no stopping those two when they've got their eyes on something."

Eyes still on the pool, Haru nodded.

A couple of moments of silence passed, shouts and splashes bouncing off the high ceiling.

"Look, Haru…" Rin sighed. "I keep pretty good contact with Makoto and we talk a decent amount. He's much more consistent in his replies than _some_ people."

Haru lowered a flat gaze onto Rin.

"I'd say we're both pretty comfortable in confiding with each other." Rin's expression turned serious. "But he has never mentioned anything about this. And he has never mentioned anything about his opinion of you, other than just his usual blabbing about, 'Today, Haru-chan…' 'Haru-chan this,' 'Haru-chan that.' And I know from Nagisa and Rei that he's never said anything to them either. I think… I think there are some things that he will only share with you."

Shouts rose up, and Haru's attention turned to the pool. The backstroke race was over. From his place in the third lane, Makoto, panting heavily, looked up at the scoreboard, where his name held third place. One arm leaning onto the wall, he turned toward where Haru and Rin sat and waved at them with a big smile.

Rin waved back, but Haru merely stared, his stomach writhing.

* * *

A week later on Sunday, while rummaging through his refrigerator and cupboards, Haru noted he was getting dangerously low on mackerel. He planned to make some for his dinner at home alone, but at this rate he wouldn't have enough for breakfast tomorrow. Checking his watch to make sure it wasn't past closing time, he collected his wallet and keys and shuffled off to the nearest grocery.

By the time he left the grocery, laden with two bags' worth of mackerel, the sun had begun to set. His shadow cast long impressions, contrasting the bright golden light skipping across the sea and mountains. Birds chirped, and various voices called out in the distance, unintelligible.

As Haru turned onto one of the streets that would lead him back home, he spotted someone crouched on the side of the road, petting a white cat. Immediately, his insides turned to mush.

"Makoto," he called out.

Makoto's head jerked up. "Haru-chan!" he said, smiling.

"Don't call me that," Haru automatically muttered, slowing to stop. He kneeled down beside Makoto and extended a hand to the cat. The cat butted him with its head.

"What'd you get?" Makoto asked, pointing to Haru's crinkling grocery bags.

Haru showed him. "Mackerel."

"Of course," Makoto laughed. "I should have known."

They sat in silence for a couple of moments, letting the cat's purring fill the lull.

Haru fully sat down, legs criss-crossed. "What are you doing out here?"

Makoto leaned back on his hands. "Oh, I don't know. I felt like I needed a walk."

"Oh."

More quiet passed, the two of them sharing pets of the cat, with Haru's heart rate steadily veering out of control.

"Makoto."

Makoto met his eyes. "Hm?"

Shallow breath in, shallow breath out. "It's true."

Makoto frowned. "What's true?"

"What they…" He swallowed. "Said."

Without another word, Makoto waited, his eyes on Haru's face.

"I am in love with you."

A beat of silence.

Haru didn't know what sort of reaction he'd expected, but he didn't expect a faint, almost sly smile to spread over Makoto's mouth.

"I know," Makoto said.

Face burning, Haru ducked his eyes aside. "Yeah, Nagisa made a big deal about-"

"Haruka."

That got Haru's attention.

Makoto's expression was completely serious. "I've known you my whole life," he said, cocking his head. "You think I couldn't tell?"

Haru's mouth went dry. "You…"

A smile. "You may be hard to read to some people, but not to me."

"But… _I_ didn't even…" Haru left the 'know' off at the end and fell silent, reeling. He blinked, brow furrowing. "How… How long…"

"I don't know exactly when I knew," Makoto said. "But at least a year or so."

Another moment of silence, and Makoto busied himself with petting the cat before turning his attention Haru again.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner. It's just…" Makoto sighed. "I don't know. I didn't want to surprise you or put you on the spot, so I wanted to wait for you to come to it on your own. I mean, I know that once you put your mind to something, you'll do it." He ran a hand through his hair. "And also, maybe, I'm a little selfish. I was curious and wanted to see what you would do."

Makoto's expression turned somewhat exasperated. "But I wasn't planning for Nagisa and Kou-chan to get involved." He chuckled. "Those two… I promise I didn't know anything about it, or I would have told them to stop."

Haru nodded. "I know," he said, finding his voice.

"Again, I'm sorry." Fading golden sunlight cast shadows onto Makoto's face. "I'm just…" He smirked, faintly, and sat up straighter, his eyes squarely on Haru. "You know, Haru-chan, for someone so intelligent, you can be pretty stupid."

Utterly incapable of rebutting against the -chan at the end of his name, Haru just busied himself with looking at his hands, Makoto's gentle laugh in his ears. After a moment, he tentatively raised his gaze and met Makoto's eyes.

Seagulls cawed overhead.

Makoto inhaled and patted the cat's head with finality. "Shall we head back?"

Haru nodded, and Makoto stood up, offering him his hand. Cheeks still flushing, Haru took his hand, his skin pressing against Makoto's callouses, and let Makoto pull him up.

They walked back to their houses in quiet contemplation. Haru's mind was abuzz with analyzing every interaction he'd had with Makoto over the course of his life. He knew Makoto couldn't read his mind, but a small part of him hoped his thoughts weren't available for public viewing. The silence was welcome, though, and soon enough, they turned onto their street and walked up the hill. Their pace slowed as Makoto's house came into view, and they eventually stopped in front of the door.

Haru exhaled. "Goodnight," he said, turning and heading to the stone steps for his house.

As he stepped onto the final landing before his house, Makoto called out, "Haru."

Haru stopped and looked back down.

A rush of summery breeze swept through.

Makoto stood still at the bottom of the stairs, his expression calm and thoughtful. "I love you."

Haru did not look away; finally, he allowed himself a small smile.

With that, and nothing more needed to be said, the two parted and entered their respective homes. Haru, mind still alive with cascading thoughts, leaned back on his front door the second he shut it. Closing his eyes, he slowly released a long held breath.

Once he had gathered himself together somewhat, he took off his shoes and headed to the kitchen, grocery bags of mackerel in hand. He set himself to preparing himself a dinner, despite the jitters in his stomach that had yet to die down, flicking on the stove and putting on his apron. With the smells and sounds of sizzling fish, he settled into a meditative rhythm.

Just as the mackerel turned a perfect golden brown, Haru's doorbell rang. He quickly slid the fish onto an awaiting plate before washing his hands. Without bothering to take off his apron, he left the fish to cool and headed to the front door.

He opened the door, and there was Makoto. Insides lighting up again, Haru tilted his head as a question.

"Can I come in for a second?" Makoto asked.

Haru shrugged and opened the door wider. "It's always unlocked."

" _Haru_ ," Makoto complained. With a sigh, he stepped inside.

Haru took a backstep to accommodate him, and Makoto closed the door behind. He didn't move any farther than the entranceway, so Haru remained as he was, facing toward him. Makoto pressed his lips together and glanced aside, his cheeks and ears subtly flushed.

Several moments of silence. Haru regarded Makoto with curiosity.

"Um," Makoto said, turning his gaze to Haru. His mouth hanging open, whatever he had to say was left forgotten. He raised his hand and cupped the side of Haru's face.

Haru blinked, face heating up, but did not pull away, reveling in the sensation of Makoto's hand on his skin. Makoto's eyes fell to Haru's mouth. His thumb lightly stroked Haru's bottom lip, leaving a whispering, tingling sensation. With one last glance back up, Makoto leaned in and kissed Haru.

It was soft, at first, and then it deepened, Makoto's hand sliding to the back of Haru's neck, his fingers delving into Haru's hair, Haru grabbing fistfuls of Makoto's shirt and pulling them closer together. Haru didn't care that he had no experience kissing anyone, he just did what felt right. Makoto committed his entire energy to the kiss, with no hesitation.

When they broke apart, Makoto pressed his forehead to Haru's, his hands now touching both sides of Haru's face. They stood in silence, panting, soaking up each other's presence.

Makoto's hands slid to Haru's shoulders. He let out a breathy laugh. "Something smells like fish."

Haru blinked his eyes open, his focus on Makoto's chest. "It's the fish."

Makoto laughed with a bit more volume and straightened up to lift his head and look Haru in the eye. "I'll let you eat your dinner, then," he said, smiling.

With that, he regretfully peeled away from Haru and backtracked to the door. He sent back one final look over his shoulder before opening the door and slipping outside.

Alone with his quickened breath and heart rate, Haru lingered at the door for a moment, already longing for Makoto's touch again. Mentally slapping himself, he reminded himself that this was not a one time moment and went to go eat his mackerel.

His stomach was still too jittery to feel any hunger, but for once, it was welcome.

* * *

Not much changed after that. At least, not visibly.

As people who expressed affection in different ways, Haru and Makoto had never been particularly big into public displays of affection to begin with, so their relationship wasn't different to the outside eye. They took several weeks to get accustomed to their new situation without telling anyone else about it, because they had earned a well-deserved break from public scrutiny and interference. Haru himself wasn't sure quite how to qualify the change; words like dating, boyfriend, and significant other all seemed insubstantial and inaccurate, so he didn't mentally alter his perception of Makoto to fit into one of them. Makoto was, and would always be, just Makoto.

But, the time came to inform their friends that they were "together" (Haru hated that word too, as it implied that he and Makoto hadn't been together for their whole lives up to the beginnings of their romantic relationship). Haru decided he owed it to Rin for his advice to tell him first, so he took it upon himself to call him. Rin, in typical fashion, responded to the news with a brusque, "Damn, it was about time." Yet he paused, and when he spoke, his voice seemed a little thick, suggesting he was a bit more emotional about this outcome than he'd admit.

Rin also told Haru that he'd "taken his own damn advice" and told Yamazaki he had feelings for him. Predictably, Yamazaki liked him too. Unfortunately for Haru, this would mean he would likely have to suffer his presence more often, but maybe Yamazaki's mood would be improved now.

Then they had to tell Rei and Nagisa.

One day at lunch on the rooftop, when they could be guaranteed some amount of privacy, Makoto was elected to break the news.

"Well," Rei said, so calmly it seemed a facade, and pushed back his glasses. "I am happy for the both of you."

Haru's eyes switched to Nagisa, who kept quiet, looking like he was trying to control his reaction. But his eyes were too wide, his mouth too indecisive as whether to smile or not; he was cracking.

A couple of moments of awkward silence. Haru and Makoto glanced to each other.

And then-

Nagisa flung himself onto the pair of them with an ungodly screech. " _I'm so happy!_ " he shouted in their ears, squeezing them into a soul crushing hug. "I thought I'd be an old man by the time my children finally got together!"

"Your _children?_ " Makoto squeaked.

With a rib cracking squeeze, Nagisa released them and sat back, resting one hand on Makoto's hand and the other on Haru's hand. He flicked his gaze between them, a reverential and loving expression on his face, as they both recoiled slightly in discomfort. "You've made me the happiest man in the world."

"I am sitting right here," Rei said.

Nagisa had eyes and ears for nobody but Makoto and Haru, ignoring Rei and wistfully staring at them for much longer than necessary. With a last pat on their hands, he recollected himself and sat back down, giving them room to breathe. " _So…_ " he insinuated, raising his eyebrows. "When was this decided? Who told who first?"

"Um, well," said Makoto, scratching the back of his head as he shot a look to Haru. "It was decided about three weeks ago? Four?"

" _What?!_ And you didn't tell us until _now?!_ "

Haru gave Nagisa a flat look. "Why do you think we didn't tell you?"

Sheepish, Nagisa scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Yeah." After a moment of reflection, he rebounded right back into excitement. "So how did it go down? I want to know _everything_."

"It doesn't matter how it went down," Haru said before Makoto could say anything. "You got the result you wanted."

"Aw, you're no good for gossip, Haru-chan," whined Nagisa, pouting. "I'll just ask Mako-chan later when he can't say no."

" _What-_ "

"So three or four weeks, huh?" Nagisa leaned back on his hands. His mouth curled into a devious smile. "Have you gone to the bone zone yet?"

"Nagisa!" Makoto buried his face in his hands, the tips of his ears turning red.

As Rei spluttered, Haru tightly said, "None of your business."

Nagisa's eyebrows crept up. "That means yes."

"It means that whether we have or not, we're not going to tell you anything."

"Okay, Haru-chan," Nagisa accepted, with a wink. " _Sure_."

Relishing Rei's bluster, Makoto's discomfort, and Haru's glare, Nagisa said nothing for a few moments, letting the mood settle again before saying, "So… Does this mean that I won the competition with Gou-kun?"

" _Nagisa._ "

"I'm just saying, _technically_ , you guys talked to each other after something I did, so by default…"

"Haven't you learned anything?" said Haru.

"I'm not trying to take pride in it, I'm just clarifying, that's all," Nagisa said, waving his hand.

Makoto sighed. "Neither of you won," he said, tone unexpectedly solemn. He was quiet for a moment, and then met Haru's gaze. "It would have happened anyway."

Haru gave a soft smile back.

"Aw," cooed Nagisa. "Haru-chan, you have to kiss him after a line like that."

"No."

"You're so stingy! Go ahead, Rei-chan and I aren't even here!" As Nagisa said this, Haru could see him surreptitiously pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

After a beat of silence, Haru smirked. "Nagisa, if you want a picture to masturbate to, ask Rei."

Everyone - Nagisa included - screamed.

* * *

The water was cool, peaceful, willing to bend at Haru's touch with no resistance. He did laps, losing track of time, afternoon sunlight turning more and more gold and fading as the sun moved away from overhead.

As usual, a form hovered on the deck at the end of his lane, waiting. Accepting defeat, Haru didn't turn back down the lane when his hand touched the wall, and he stopped. He pulled off his goggles and cap, shaking out the flecks of water from his hair, and looked up.

Makoto smiled. "Great job as always, Haru-chan," he said, offering his hand.

"Stop adding the -chan," Haru answered on habit, nonetheless taking Makoto's hand.

Makoto's smile widened, and tightening his grip, he helped Haru climb up onto the deck.

The sun had nearly set, and they were alone. Makoto was fully changed back into his uniform, tie a little looser than he would have it during school hours. Haru, a small smile on his mouth, released Makoto's hand and kissed him, hands curling into Makoto's still damp hair. Makoto made a little noise of surprise before sinking deeper into the kiss, ignoring how dripping Haru was making his dry uniform wet.

A flash of light burned Haru's closed eyelids.

The two of them jumped apart, eyes flitting for the source.

"Gou-kun, why would you use flash?!" Nagisa's voice squealed from outside the gate.

"Well it's on _auto_ and I guess it's too dark for it to take a picture otherwise!"

Kou and Nagisa crumbled into bickering, their voice rising and echoing across the pool.

Haru looked to Makoto. Makoto sighed and shook his head, smiling.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **-sweats-**

 **uh. hey y'all.**

 **it's been a hot minute since I updated this. I actually must admit that I updated this like a month or two ago on ao3 but completely forgot about fanfiction because I don't really use it anymore? I am so sorry, so hopefully finishing this fic makes up for my forgetfulness.**

 **after over two years and almost giving up multiple times, I have finally finished this heckin fic. this has been with me since my senior year of high school to now, my sophomore year of college. who am I now that I don't have this fic looming over me, begging me to give it a resolution? honestly I'm going to miss coming up with these cringey crack scenarios and I'm lowkey kinda emotional about it**

 **thank you for continuing to the end. I appreciate your patience and all the reviews, they really have meant a lot to me.**

 **if you care to see more of my writing, find me on tumblr or ao3 at broniichan. I currently have a long wip on ao3 that is makoharu and sourin and absolutely nothing like this fic, but I'm really liking it so if you're interested please check it out**

 **again, thanks, and peace out my dudes**


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